It was just another day for Fluttershy. She had chosen to stick to one of the safer areas of the Everfree Forest. The best part being she wasn't near any of the dangerous creatures dwelling within the untamed grounds. The sounds of birds rang through the air, and a few even landed on her. However, there was a new sound heard in the distance. Fluttershy froze. It sounded like someone was punching at a tree. And from the sounds of the impact, they were hitting with great force. The sound of a tree falling was thunderous! Fluttershy then heard footsteps. Footsteps heading in HER direction! Fluttershy was so nervous that she hid inside a bush and peeked out for any signs of a creature. The footsteps were getting closer. It was then that a figure came into view from Fluttershy's hiding place. She saw that the figure was a young man who was fairly tall. His clothing consisted of torn jeans, white sneakers, and a grey tank top. The dark green skin he had almost made him blend into the forest, and his yellow eyes only added to the wild look he had about him. Fluttershy then saw him unstrapping the gloves on his hands and rubbing his hands as if they were sore. Meaning he was probably the source of the noise earlier. His brown hair fell past his shoulders and spiked out in some areas in the back while his face was framed by two locks on either side. It was pretty clear that this guy was the same one who had been the source of the noise earlier. He looks dangerous.... Fluttershy thought as she trembled in the bush. She then noticed the man sit down. He seemed to be resting for the moment. Okay Fluttershy. Don't move. Don't make a sound. So as long as he doesn't see or hear you, you'll be fine. Fluttershy then noticed one of the birds she was with earlier flew over to the sitting man. The man then turned his head in the direction of the bird. Fluttershy's heart began to pound in her chest! Oh dear! Oh dear! Fly away from him! Fly away! Fluttershy continued to panic as she saw the man extend his arm and the bird landed on it.
The man smiled. "Hello there.", he said to the bird. Fluttershy was expecting a different voice to come out of him, and was also surprised to see the guy act so friendly. She was then startled when she saw the man walking in her direction. "You can come out now. I mean you no harm." Fluttershy walked slowly out of the bush she was hiding in and gradually looked him in the eye. "Nice to meet you. But I didn't expect to see a pegasus stick so close to the ground. Did you get lost?"
Fluttershy shook her head. "Actually...I was hiding from some loud noises I heard earlier."
The man scratched his head. "Sorry about that.
Fluttershy hid behind her hair. "I'm Fluttershy."
"I'd say your name suits you.", the man said with a small smile. "I'm Tyrannus Thunder. But call me Ty please. If you're headed back for town, I wouldn't mind some extra company." Ty started walking, and Fluttershy followed still keeping her distance. However, it didn't go unnoticed by Ty. "Do you really think I'm that scary?"
Fluttershy froze. "Well...you seem nice..."
"But my size is what's intimidating you isn't it?", Ty asked. "No big deal. I've lived with reactions like yours all my life."
"I'm sorry!", Fluttershy pleaded! "I know it wasn't fair to think you were mean just becau-" Ty stopped her.
"Like I said. No big deal. I've got pretty thick skin, so I've got a high level of tolerance for what others think of me.", Ty said with a small smile. "Besides. You're the first person not to run away screaming the second they bump into me. That makes you alright in my book. So let's keep moving." The two soon arrived at Fluttershy's cottage. "Thank you."
Fluttershy was confused. "What did I do?"
"You took the time to talk to me. I hope we can talk again some time. Until next time Fluttershy." And Ty walked off, Fluttershy smiled.
Looks like I have a new friend. Fluttershy hummed to herself as she set to work tending to her animal friends.
The events of Bridle Gossip...
Ty was wandering through Ponyville. But something was off to him as he walked. "Weird. It's a nice day out. So why is everyone inside?" As Ty looked around, he noticed that everyone seemed fearful of a lone figure walking about. And it wasn't him. This warrants some investigation. Meanwhile, Twilight had just gotten pulled inside Sugar Cube Corner by Pinkie. Fluttershy and Applejack were also there and trying to hide from the hooded figure Ty was approaching. Fluttershy's eyes widened when she saw Ty walk up to the figure. "Hello. Is there something you're looking for in town?" Fluttershy was surprised to see Ty talking so casually around Zecora! But then again, everyone had just up and shut themselves inside just because she was different. Fluttershy looked at the floor in shame.
Just like how I hid from Ty when I first met him...
"Glad to see someone is reasonable.", Twilight said with a smile. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd say that guy has the right idea." Twilight got up, and walked outside to meet Zecora and Tyrannus. Fluttershy did the same. Zecora explained that she was looking for ingredients for a poison joke remedy. "But there's no poison joke patches here in Ponyville."
"A fact I plainly see. But the same cannot be said for Everfree.", Zecora said with a nod.
"So that explains why this happened to us.", Burst groaned as he, Inferno, Steel, and Ace came back obviously altered by the poison joke. Burst's wings had shrunk his own magic shocked him, Inferno's hair blocked his eyes and he had to use Burst as a guide, Steel's wings were making him crash into things against his will, and Ace's wings had been replaced with snowflakes. "And to think. We're in this mess because Steel tried to prank us with the poison joke. Needless to say, it came back to bite him."
"Ow!", Steel moaned as his wings forced him to hit a building! "I said-Ow! I was-Oof! Sorry!" His wings repeatedly made him hit a window.
"I'd say we believe you.", Inferno muttered underneath his mop of hair. "So how do we fix this?"
Zecora chuckled. "Tis an easy task! All you really need is a bath!" Zecora led the group to her hut. Burst and the guys took care in tying a rope around Steel to prevent his wings from dragging him off before Twilight and the rest of the Mane 6 joined. Zecora showed Twilight the book that held the remedy for the poison joke curse.
"Huh. I'd have never guessed a book with this title would be a natural remedy collection.", Twilight noted.
"Maybe we shouldn't judge people before we get to know them. Or steer them away just because they look different.", Fluttershy said with a sheepish smile.
Ty smiled. "Tolerance isn't an easy thing to learn Fluttershy. But once you learn it, it stays with you for life. I've been judged by my appearance for enough of my life because of how intimidating I look, and that built up my hide. It also made me tolerant towards other people who seemed odd simply because of how they acted."
"A pretty good policy.", Ace said with a nod. "By the way, we never got your name. And how did you meet Fluttershy?"
"Name's Tyrannus Thunder. But call me Ty for short. As for how I met Fluttershy, I noticed her hiding in a bush yesterday while I was training in one of the Everfree Forest's safer areas. She was scared of me at first, but she warmed up pretty quick after we chatted a little. Kind of like how the whole town was hiding from Zecora earlier." Fluttershy smiled.
"Well...I learned not to judge a book by its cover from you. Even if I didn't practice it right away." Fluttershy was surprised when Ty kissed her on the forehead! "Wh-What was that for?"
"You looked like you could use some kindness.", Ty said with a smile. "Consider it repaying the kindness you showed me yesterday." Ty then looked to Burst and his friends. "I guess I should get to know you four too."
"I'm Burst.", Burst said with a smile as he pointed to each of his friends respecitvely. "This is Inferno, Ace, and Steel. So are you new here Ty?"
Ty shook his head. "Not really. I don't have a place to stay and I just arrived yesterday."
"Maybe...you could stay with me?", Fluttershy asked with a blush.
Ty bowed with a smile. "I graciously accept your offer. I suppose I should also look for work."
"With muscles like yours, you'd be a pretty big help at Sweet Apple Acres!", Applejack said with a smile. "If Big Mac ever gets hurt again, it'll be nice ta have an extra heavy-hitter on hand."
"Thanks!", Ty said with a smile. "I didn't expect to make friends today."
"What can we say?", Burst said with a shrug. "That heart of yours is as big as you are." Burst then looked to Twilight and her friends. "So I take it you six will be going to the Grand Galloping Gala?" Twilight and all her friends nodded. "Well, I hope you can follow through with your plans. Me and the guys? We're gonna kick things up a notch there. We've still got two spare tickets left though."
"Then would you mind if I took one?", Ty asked. "I've heard a lot about the gardens at Canterlot Castle. Supposedly, they've got a lot of rare animals there. What can I say? I'm an animal lover."
Burst smiled. "Something tells me you and Fluttershy will get along real well. The two of you seemed to have hit it off already. I'll hand you the ticket once we git rid of this status ailment." Soon enough, Twilight and the Mane 6 introduced Ponyville to Zecora and Burst and the gang got rid of the poison joke curse. Ty was walking home with Fluttershy.
"Well, here we are.", Fluttershy said as she showed Ty her cottage.
"It's perfect. The couch should be a good enough place to sleep.", Ty said with a nod. "Again. Thanks for letting me stay with you."
Fluttershy blushed. "Well, I couldn't leave you to sleep outside." She was surprised when Ty once again kissed her on the forehead.
"You're adorable when you blush." Later that night, Ty slept soundly lying his head on one of the couch's pillows. Fluttershy made her way to him quietly and slipped a blanket over him. She then kissed Ty on the forehead.
"Goodnight Ty.", she said with a smile before heading back to bed. Ty opened one of his eyes and smiled.
"Goodnight to you too Fluttershy."