I sat silently on the couch in Fluttershy's home. She'd been speaking almost nonstop the whole way, but I could smell the fear and anxiety she was attempting to mask. She definitely was trying to keep calm. Did... did she suspect me!? No... it couldn't be... a trap!? I jolted as something poked my leg. Looking down I saw... what in the queen's name?
I lifted my hoof and looked at the thing wrapping itself around said limb. It was... long, and it had no limbs. It was just a body.
"Woah, what happened to you?!"
It lifted its head and flicked its tongue at me. I leaned forward to investigate, and it moved forward and curled around my neck. I simply stared at it as it remained on my shoulders.
"Uh... make yourself comfortable?"
(Meanwhile)
Fluttershy gave herself a determined look as she stood in the bathroom. She'd set the kettle on and had some time before the water boiled.
"Okay, Fluttershy. You can do this. Pinkie said that all I need to do was be brave and I'd like talking to ponies in no time.... Oh... but talking to ponies I don't know is so scary. But, Pinkie believes in me! And I don't want to let her down!"
Fluttershy took a deep breath to calm her nerves and thought back to all that her party loving friend had told her. For clarification, Pinkie had approached Fluttershy with a request to give her a "friend making lesson" in the hopes to make her more comfortable around others. Reluctantly, Fluttershy had agreed.
"Okay, stay cool, calm, and collected. There's no reason to be nervous, he's just one pony.... One pony that might make fun of me for being a bad flyer or not having many friends!"
She shook her head and sighed.
"No, I-I can do this... for Pinkie. I'd hate to let her down."
She took another breath as the kettle began to whistle before exiting the bathroom and preparing the tea. Once it was ready, Fluttershy set the teapot and cups on a tray and carried it into the living room.
"I h-hope you like rose and--Oh! I'm so sorry! I hope he didn't scare you."
I looked up at her and then down at the thing draped across my shoulders.
"No. I do not mind. What is it?"
She set down the tray and attempted to remove said thing... but it just held on tighter.
"Oh, I-I'm so sorry about him. He's usually very shy."
"Oh... but... uh, what is he?"
She blushed and shrank back a bit.
"S-sorry! Um... he's a ball python. His name is Spaghetti. N-not because he looks like a noodle! It's because he likes hiding in... empty... spaghetti... boxes."
The last word was barely more than a squeak and she was practically lying on the floor she'd crouched down so low.
"Oh... I like him. He is nice."
She perked up a bit.
"R-really? Most ponies think snakes are icky."
"Really? But... he's kinda cute."
Spaghetti raised his head and flicked his tongue at me, obviously pleased.
"Wow, I think he's smiling!"
"Smiling?"
She shrank down a bit.
"Oh, sorry. That sounded weird, didn't it. I'm sorry. It's just...."
Quick! I need her to not hate me. Because if she hates me, she'll call her pony friends to come chase me with torches and pitchforks!
"Oh... y-yeah! I see it now... smiling."
That word was familia-- Ooooooh. Smiling. That's what that face was called! Derp! She carefully poured the tea and we sat silently as we drank it. Eventually I'd finished my tea and was ready to leave... without tipping off my host that I wasn't a pony.
"Well... this was... nice."
She silently nodded. I stepped towards the door and paused.
"Uh... do you want Spaghetti back?"
"Oh, um... I think he really likes you, so if you want to, um, keep him as a pet, uh, if you want to, then you can."
"Oh... thanks. Uh... what does he eat?"
"I'll send you some food for him. You'll only want to feed him every once in a while. He doesn't need food everyday."
"Thank you. Uh... have a good night?"
She nodded and took a sip of tea. I slowly closed the door before walking back towards--
"There you are!"
"Aaaagh!"
*Bonk!*
*Splash*
"...Whoops! Sorry, Mirror! Didn't mean to scare you!"
I picked myself up from the middle of the stream and climbed back up to the bridge where the pink pony from the party was waiting.
"Uh... do you need something?"
"Uh, yeah! I need you to follow me!"
Oh no, I already did this once and it was bad. I don't think so scary pony.
"Oh, uh... look at the time. I think I should-- Eeep!"
She grabbed my hoof and pulled me off in the direction of town. Okay, how strong was this pony!? I literally could not get free! Finally we stopped in front of a small house with Carrot Top and my bosses standing out front.
"Uh... what's going on?"
Pink jumped out in front and cheered,
"Surprise! We all chipped in and bought this house for you!"
She appeared beside me and whispered,
"Actually, Mayor Mare basically gave it to us for a tray of brownies. Apparently it cost more to upkeep than it was worth."
She then rejoined her friends and smiled at me before gesturing for me to enter. I cautiously walked through the door and gaped in surprise. The whole house was just so... pleasant. There was a squishy, squashy looking couch, a fireplace; a big, comfy chair; and a little kitchen with a small white fridge. Through a small door was a bathroom with a shower, toilet, and sink. Walking up the stairs I saw a good sized bed with a little table holding a lamp beside it. On a table by the window was a small vase of flowers. Overall, it was... nice.
"Sooooooo. Do you like it?"
I turned to the five mares and shyly smiled.
"I... I really like it. Thanks."
They all cheered before wishing me goodnight and leaving me and Spaghetti alone. Once I had locked the doors and closed the blinds I let out a breath and dropped my disguise. Words cannot express the relief I felt as I became myself again. I stretched and shivered, glad to have my chitin back rather than annoying pony fur. I felt my fangs with my tongue before buzzing my wings and allowing my aching horn to rest. I'd never had that much practice using magic before this.
"Finally. All alone. No ponies, no disguise, nothing to worry about."
I looked down at Spaghetti as he slithered down my leg and started squeezing through the holes in my hoof.
"S-stop that! It tickles!"
He raised his head and flicked his tongue before slithering up the stairs leaving me alone in the main room. I looked around before glancing at the bathroom.
"Well... a shower felt good before, how will it feel now that I’m not hiding?"
I entered the bathroom and stepped into the shower. Oh yeah, it was nice. It was then I noticed something in the bottom of the shower. Once I pressed it, the water stopped draining. Soon I could comfortably sit in the water and enjoy the warmth. Unfortunately, the water got too full and spilled all over the floor. It took a lot of towels to dry it up. Yes, I learned about towels. Changelings are masters of adaptation.
After my small adventure I decided to go to sleep. I did have to work tomorrow. I got on my bed and curled up between its layers. I glanced up at the weird squishy thing at the top of the bed and had an idea.
"Hey, Spaghetti. Do you want to sleep in this thing? I'm not using it."
Silently, my new companion slithered over and squeezed into the inner layer of said thing. I yawned before using my magic to turn out the lights.
"So far, so good. Heh, even my luck has been better. Maybe... maybe I won't mess this up like I did at the Hive. Maybe I can make this work."
Maybe I just called down a curse upon myself.