The Tatzl

by Raging Mouse

2: Funhouse Mirrors and Mad Scientists

Twilight next awoke to general chatter. She opened her eyes and found herself lying on Rarity’s fainting couch in the middle of Fluttershy’s cottage. This immediately irritated her orderly nature with its redundancy. Fluttershy's own couch was currently unused, as all her friends clustered around… Twilight's counterpart from another dimension. Right. Couch-Twilight’s still-groggy mind had shuffled her list of priorities. Gripe about couches later.

Pinkie Pie’s head emerged from the general cluster of ponies like an opening Jack-in-the-box. “Girls! Couch Twilight is awake again!” She raced to (couch-) Twilight’s side, peering down at her with a wide grin. Behind Pinkie, the others also broke up their cluster, Applejack staring at the back of Pinkie’s head and mouthing something in disbelief. Twilight noted all of this, but the majority of her focus was still centered on her distorted mirror image standing in the middle of Fluttershy's cottage. The tatzlpony looked back at Twilight. Three tentacles drooped out of her tripartite maw and curled around themselves in a nervous tic.

Fluttershy stepped between them, locking Twilight’s eyes with her own compassionate gaze. “Twilight, I know she seems scary to you, but I promise she’s perfectly gentle. She’s also curious about you.” Three tentacles snaked their way into Fluttershy’s hair from behind. Tatzl Twilight (Tatzlight? Twilight mused in the idle manner of the stunned) peeked at Twilight over Fluttershy’s head. Fluttershy’s ear flicked and she giggled before continuing. “Tatzlponies are extremely touchy-feely and use their tongues to investigate their surroundings. Do you think you could let her examine you up close? She’s been looking forward to meeting you.”

Twilight eyed those snaking tentacles with great trepidation for a moment. Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. All I have to do is stop thinking about them as snake-like. They’re tongues. They’re tentacle-like tongues… which I admit isn’t that much better. She huffed and opened her eyes. “All right. I, I too am curious about her.” She wriggled until her hooves landed on the floor of the cottage, allowing her to tilt into standing. Fluttershy, meanwhile, stepped to the side with a smile, giving Tatzlight a clear route to Twilight. She still admonished Tatzlight as the tatzlpony passed her. “Be nice. And no swallowing anypony yet, okay?”

This made Tatzlight freeze, while everypony except Fluttershy backed away from her in surprise. Rarity raised her eyebrow and peered at Fluttershy. “What was that about swallowing ponies, dear?”

“Oh.” Fluttershy once again assumed a sheepish expression. “It’s complicated. I’ll show you in a while. It’s not what you think. Go on, Twilight. I know you’re curious.”

There was a moment’s hesitation as both Twilights looked to Fluttershy, trying to verify which of them she was talking to. Then they locked eyes and approached each other. Up close, Twilight noted that Tatzlight had a dry, earthen scent around her. Tatzlight’s fur was longer and shaggier than Twilight’s, and her mane was likewise more unkempt. There was definite intelligence in her eyes, and a feral curiosity. Tatzlight’s maw was opened, and Twilight gulped but held her ground as one of the tongues reached out to boop her on the nose. This made Twilight giggle, which seemed to serve as an icebreaker. Soon the two, Twilight and Tatzlight, were circling each other. Twilight was poking Tatzlight’s thick and scaly tail. Meanwhile Tatzlight was running her tongues over Twilight’s left wing, tugging on it so she could see it unfold. The others crowded around, equally curious. Twilight's excitement and curiosity increased by every second.

“This is amazing! She seems to be a hybrid of pony and tatzlwurm! That the traits of these two creatures are mixed rather than blended would hint at a possible magical origin, much like the chimera!”

Fluttershy nodded. “I did mention they are the result of a curse on Ponykind, yes.”

“You did, yes! But if the curse was still active, Tatzlight here would’ve reverted back to being a unicorn when you defeated that world’s Sombra. The curse might have naturalized over the millennium, again much like chimeras! Fluttershy, do you think I could bring her to the castle? I’ve set up my science lab in the basement, and getting readings on another chimeric creature could be vital to the advancement of our knowledge of magic!”

The question made Fluttershy pause. “Um, Twilight? Um, that is, not you, but you”—she indicated Tatzlight—”would you like to go with pony Twilight here for a bit?”

Tatzlight shook her head and emitted a trilling chirp followed by the words “home, rest” in perfect imitation of Fluttershy’s voice. Fluttershy noted the others’ looks of surprise and explained.

“Twilight—I’m sorry, this is getting confusing. Can I call you Tatzlight? Thank you—Tatzlight here can imitate almost any sound she’s heard. She doesn’t speak any language of her own, but there are some bird-like calls she uses. She has also picked up the meanings of many words I’ve said and started using them. And I’m sorry, Twilight, but she wants to return to her nesting place to rest. You can ask her again tomorrow, though.”

“Oh, that’s alright. Science should not be rushed, and I’ll get better results from an unstressed specimen.” Twilight paused, wondering why her friends were staring at her so. “Anyway, if Tatzlight doesn’t mind then I’d like to see her nesting place?”

Fluttershy’s ears folded down. “Um, I’m not sure that is such a good idea.”

Applejack spoke before Twilight could. “Huh, why not? Is she territorial?”

“No, not at all.” Fluttershy shook her head in accompaniment to her words. “I haven’t had the time to explain to the others… um… and prepare them for meeting you all.”

This was met with several seconds of silence. Then Rarity spoke. “The others?”

“Um. Yes. The other tatzlponies I brought through the portal.”

Another pause. This time, Twilight spoke. “How many did you bring?”

“Eleven, in total. Or twelve. Thirteen? They can be difficult to—” A pink blur cannoned into Fluttershy.

Once the ponies’ eyes caught up, they saw Pinkie Pie standing above Fluttershy, who was prone on her back. Pinkie was staring at Fluttershy, and vibrating enough to blur her outline. “You brought eleven, twelve or thirteen new friends to Ponyville?!?”

Fluttershy put a hoof to Pinkie’s chest, and a pressure that everyone had failed to notice in their ears eased. “Pinkie, these friends of mine are very shy right now. No parties!”

Pinkie backed away slowly while complaining. “But… but… but…” She sat down in front of Fluttershy and whined like a puppy. “Can I at least go and greet them?”

“Yes, but—” Fluttershy grunted as she picked herself up from where Pinkie had tackled her. “—there are a couple things you all should know.”

Everybody else (except for Tatzlight. She was lost rummaging through Twilight’s mane with her tongues.) gathered in a semi-circle, looking attentively at Fluttershy. Twilight spoke. “We’re all ears, Fluttershy!”

With another deep breath, Fluttershy started her lecture.

“Tatzlwurms are monstrous burrowing annelids, and tatzlponies share many of their traits. But there are a couple big differences. You know that Tatzlwurms try to engulf their prey… but tatzlponies engulf for social reasons. I want to be clear here: you can expect the other tatzlponies to try to swallow you. It’s their way of… of saying ‘hi’, of being curious, of hugging, of saying you’re their friend… they do a lot by swallowing items or ponies. It’s completely harmless, and they will let you out shortly, but it can be disconcerting at first. Tatzlight here is very obedient, and I was able to convince her not to swallow any of you until I told her it was okay. But the others have different personalities and will attempt to swallow you without asking permission. The easiest choice is to let them; the second easiest choice is not to visit any tatzlponies.”

She became stern and stomped her hoof for emphasis. “You will not fight any tatzlpony trying to swallow you! They are being nice to you and shouldn’t have to suffer for that! So I repeat, only follow me and Tatzlight if you are prepared to let them engulf you for a while!”

Hooves were raised in question. Fluttershy hesitated before nodding to Rarity.

“Dear, is there no polite way to decline being swallowed? I fear for my coiffure…”

“No, sorry. I can say that you’re right to worry about your hairdo, as the stomach of a tatzlpony is a bit moist. I’d suggest wearing a shower cap. Applejack, you have a question?”

“Thanks, sugarcube. How do we let ‘em know we want out?”

“Oh, to be honest I don’t know! They have somehow always been able to tell when I want out, and have complied right away. If nothing else, simply yell so I can hear you and ask on your behalf. Now, Twilight. You had a question?”

Twilight lowered her hoof. She’d been quite wide-eyed for most of the lecture. “Fluttershy, how exactly are they going to swallow us? We’re almost the same size!”

“Oh, there are larger tatzlponies, but you are right about most of them being about the same size as regular ponies. As for how… would you allow Tatzlight to show you? She’ll not be satisfied with meeting you until she’s swallowed you for a bit.”

Twilight fought her sudden bout of nerves. “Er… What should I do?”

Comments

[Bookwurm666]

Twilight next awoke to general chatter. She opened her eyes and found herself lying on Rarity’s fainting couch in the middle of Fluttershy’s cottage. This immediately irritated her orderly nature with its redundancy. Fluttershy's own couch was currently unused, as all her friends clustered around… Twilight's counterpart from another dimension. Right . Couch-Twilight’s still-groggy mind had shuffled her list of priorities. Gripe about couches later.

Fluttershy's couch isn't a fainting couch so why would they put Twilight on Fluttershy's couch after she fainted?

[Cyrus Colter]

11310125
A couch is a couch.