Fluttershy tip-hoofed into Carousel Boutique and allowed the door to close behind her. A bell chimed loudly when it shut, and she flattened her ears as it echoed through the house. Rarity was nowhere to be seen, so Fluttershy looked at the dozen ponyquins on display. A yellow sundress with white lace and a wide-brimmed hat bathed in the sunlight in front of the window. The phantom tartness of lemonade clung to the roof of her mouth, and her ear twitched at the echo of a buzzing bee. Suit jackets and ornate gowns of summer and fall colors lined the displays of the showroom.
She was eyeing a sun hat that reminded her of her mother when Rarity’s voice called from the back room.
“Give me just a moment, darling. I’ll be right with you!”
“Oh, it’s okay.” Fluttershy said. “Take your time.”
“Oh! Fluttershy? Is that you, dear?” Rarity asked as she poked her head through an open doorway. “Please come in and make yourself at home. I just put a kettle on.”
Fluttershy stepped into the back room and peeked at her surroundings from between a curtain of hair. The room doubled as a small kitchen and lounge. A sofa sat in front of a glass coffee table with a collage of fashion magazines and scattered coasters spread across it. On the opposite end of the room stood a small icebox, a stove, and a cabinet decorated with a spring motif.
“So, what brings you here, darling?”
“Well I was hoping you could make something for me, if it’s not too much trouble, that is,” Fluttershy said as she crawled onto the sofa. “Well it’s not actually for me, really. It’s for a friend.”
“A friend, you say?” Rarity smirked as she set down the tray with the teapot and cups. “Well I am glad you are branching out in your social circles, dear. Celestia knows it would be good for you. Now, what can I do for this mysterious friend of yours?”
Rarity filled their cups while Fluttershy continued.
“He’s, well, not really from around here. He’s not a pony, and doesn’t have a whole lot of fur, so I imagine he wants something to keep himself covered up to keep warm and so he doesn’t get a sunburn.”
Fluttershy pulled a notebook from her saddlebags and handed it to Rarity. She opened the book and peered at the first page of notes and rough diagrams through a pair of horn-rimmed glasses. Rarity pursed her lips and hummed.
“How peculiar… Is your friend a Minotaur, by any chance?”
“No.” Fluttershy shook her head. “He’s a… well… We’re not exactly sure what he is. Twilight thinks he might be some sort of primate. Now that you mention it, he never actually gave us a straight answer.”
“Has Twilight met him?”
“No… Just Dash and I. You see, I didn’t know he could talk until this morning. I found him in the Everfree last night and brought him home, but since I had never seen anything like him before, I wanted Dash to be there… Just in case.”
“You know, dear… I’ve always thought you and Rainbow Dash looked positively adorable together. She’s always so protective of you. It’s very sweet.”
“Rarity…” Fluttershy sighed and rolled her eyes when Rarity wasn’t looking. “Rainbow is like a sister to me. We practically grew up together. She’s nice and all, ‘awesome’ as she would put it, but that would be, well, weird.”
“Oh, very well…” Rarity huffed. “What about this new friend of yours? How did you meet him?”
“That’s, ummm, a bit of a long story, and I’ve told it so many times today…”
“Pleeeeease?” Rarity batted her eyelashes.
Fluttershy sighed. “Alright.”
She described her ordeal in the Everfree Forest for the third time that day. As Fluttershy recalled the details, she was surprised to discover that they did not frighten her as much as they did when she told Rainbow at breakfast. Perhaps, as she shared the experience with her friends, the trauma was slowly became easier to bear.
“...And that’s what happened.”
“Celestia’s mane…” Rarity gasped. “That’s so… so… so…”
“Terrifying? Horrible? Reckless?”
“...Romantic!”
...What?
“But Rarity…”
“Honestly, darling, it sounds just like a breezie tale! A rugged monster rescues the fair maiden from a pack of beasts but is injured in the process, and then the maiden must nurse him back to health in the intimacy of her own home. Then the maiden and monster fall in love and live happily ever after!”
“That’s a very lovely image you have, Rarity, but there’s just one itty-bitty, tinsey little problem with it…”
“And what would that be?”
“Lyall didn’t want to stay at my cottage. He, well, decided to camp out in the White Tail Woods.”
Rarity blinked once.
Twice.
“Drat.”
“I think he just values his privacy.” Fluttershy ruffled her wings. “That’s something I can respect. Some creatures are just more solitary than others, even for their own kind. L-like me. The best thing I can do is make him more comfortable and give him room to stand on his own two feet.”
“Very well. Let a mare fantasize. I’ll see what I can do for this outfit. I must say, the design is quite retro… almost archaic, even. I may need to order something from out of town, but I should have it ready by the end of next week at the latest.”
“Thank you, Rarity. I really appreciate it.”
Luna sat on her chariot with a pensive frown. The wind tugged at her mane while the skyscrapers of Manehattan slowly faded behind her, but Luna’s thoughts clung to the last dream of her evening vigil. She remembered the heat of the flames searing her back as she ran in an alien body, and she remembered being swept away by the vivid memories the moment she stepped into the dream. Knowledge of concepts and words she had never encountered swam through Luna’s mind, but even as the morning dew evaporated—so did the memories.
She rubbed her temple and groaned. The vision was far too vivid to be a dream or a nightmare. It had to be a memory - and a recent one at that. Nothing from her studies matched what she saw, nothing. Luna creased her brow as she tried to make sense of it.
She banished the thoughts and focused on more immediate concerns. The filly from yesterday raised an interesting point. In order to fully understand the lives of her subjects, she had to immerse herself into their activities. Luna needed to step down to their level and live as they did.
“Sergeant.”
“Yes, Princess?” The stallion glanced behind him.
“We may have an idea. When we get to our next stop, we need to land our chariot somewhere inconspicuous. We are to venture into the city in disguise and spread word of Our arrival. Mayhaps with a different perspective we shalt procure a better reception. What dost thou think, mine guard?”
“Excellent idea, Your Highness. How will you advertise your debut?”
“With these!”
Luna pulled out a small cardboard box from a set of saddlebags on the floor of the chariot. She levitated it into the guard’s face, and he reeled back to blink the object into focus. The box was a happy orange with a rainbow twisting across the face. A gryphon, covered head to claw in prismatic feathers, grinned on the front with two drenched paint brushes.
“Gryphola… Really, Princess? Crayons?”
“Verily! Tis almost like sticks of charcoal, yet they produce color liken unto paints! Truly a marvelous invention of this new age. However, We were told by Our sister that many of our little ponies seem to have developed a taste for consuming such useful tools. We tried one ourselves and did not see the appeal, so please restrain thyself, Sergeant, or We shall have thee court martialed for substance abuse!”
“Understood, Princess.” The guard focused on their flight while his comrade fought to keep his stony expression in check.
Pinkie Pie prowled through the bright streets of mid-day Ponyville, guided by the faint tremors in her back. She hummed a cheerful tune as she pronked stealthily past the marketplace. Roseluck waved at her and wished her a good afternoon, but Pinkie only returned an ecstatic grin, because she was on a mission.
Her tail twitched and swayed like a rudder in the cosmic waves of n-th dimensional space. A familiar tug pulled her from town and a hop to the left brought her just outside the White Tail Woods. Pinkie’s right hoof popped, the curl on her mane wobbled, and her left cutie mark twitched, so Pinkie knew she was needed - that someone needed a friend.
“Helloooooo?~” Pinkie hollered into the forest as she pranced between the trees. “My Pinkie Sense told me someone was out here all alone and I thought that was weird because it was someone and not somepony. Like, it’s not unusual for ponies to come out here, but they’re not normally by themselves since they’re having a jog or picnic with friends and if someone is out here all by themselves then they might not have any friends to have picnics with and that’s just so sad, so I came out here to say ‘hi!’ and see if you want to be friends!”
A whiff of smoke tickled Pinkie’s nose and it carried her through a dense thicket. She trotted over a taut wire made of bound grass, wondered why someone would leave something like that out for somepony to trip over, and stumbled across a small shelter of large leaves and branches formed into a rough lean-to.
“Anybody hoooooome?” She poked her head inside. “I would throw you a housewarming party, but I don’t think I could fit many ponies in here… and I’m honestly not sure if this is up to code!
“Twitch-twitch. Twitchy-twitch!” Pinkie squealed and backpedaled several paces.
A tall figure landed like a cat upon the grass where Pinkie had stood a second ago. Blue eyes met her own. But while hers were warm like bath water, his were like cold scissors that popped balloons. Scars crisscrossed and blotched the creature’s lightly furred torso and limbs, while rough hands clenched a long, sharpened stick. Pinkie blinked and found the splintery tip an inch away from her snout.
“Oh, you are home!” Pinkie giggled and ignored the sharp implement that was shoved in her face. “I was worried because I wasn’t sure how long I would have to wait, because you see, I just hate waiting since I have to sit still and occupy myself. Normally, I would just sing a song, but sometimes I have to hide and wait for the guest of honor for a surprise party and you have to be quiet or otherwise it won’t be a surprise anymore, but then the excitement of waiting for the surprise is enough to keep me occupied while sitting still. What’s your name?”
The creature stared at Pinkie. All was silent except their breathing, like the forest had dropped everything to observe them. Pinkie felt the hairs on her neck prickle as the creature’s eyes bored into her own, and she wondered if he was challenging her to an unspoken staring contest before he replied.
“Lyall.”
A muscle spasmed in Pinkie’s back-left hoof. She pursed her lips and furrowed her brow in thought. Lyall’s pupils narrowed by the barest margin, much like when Gummy had one of his moments, and Pinkie couldn’t help but wonder what was going on in his head.
“Well how do you do, Mister Lyall?” Pinkie beamed. “My name is Pinkie Pie, but all my friends call me Pinkie, though if everypony is my friend does that mean my name is just Pinkie? What counts as your real name, anyway? Is it what you go by, what you know it is, what your parents named you, or is it what everyone else calls you? Lyall is a funny name, by the way. Lyall, Lyall, Lyall! Lyyyyall… Lyaaaaall… Lyallllll…”
“I’m curious, lass,” Lyall interrupted. Pinkie noticed he had lowered his guard, but had backed up several feet. “What brings ye disporting into this greenwood and my camp? I was not expecting… visitors.”
“My Pinkie Sense told me there was someone new nearby, but not new in town as it usually does, so I decided to start pronking and see where I landed. Then, what do ya know, my twitchies brought me here to your front lawn! Though I wouldn’t really call this a lawn per se, but it’s a good analog. What you really need is some nice decorations like a welcome mat, a lawn gnome or two, maybe get rid of those trip wires, some scented candles. No, scratch the scented candles. Those are always a fire hazard. I learned that the hard way during Twilight’s housewarming party. I wonder if they make scratch-and-sniff candles? A plate of cookies would be good for guests, too. Celestia knows they’d need a pick-me-up after just finding this place, but guest snacks are no fun unless you’re sharing with them, so what are your favorite flavors?”
“Forgive my lack of hospitality,” he replied coolly. “But I am neither prepared nor particularly willing to entertain guests.”
Lyall walked past her and sat in front of the smouldering fire. A large pile of reeds and grass lay at his right. Many of them were pulled apart into long fibrous strips and twisted like twine, and were laid out in an overlapping grid on his left. Pinkie plopped down on the opposite side of the fire as he picked up a handful of materials.
“That’s super duper okay! We don’t have to have your party here. I have lots of secondary locations to choose from! There’s Applejack’s barn, Sugarcube Corner, Twilight’s library, and umm… What other cliches are there? Anyway, whatcha doin’?”
“I am making a net. I have a few snares set up in the brush to catch small game, but I’m hoping to catch something bigger with this. If not, ‘twill be perfectly serviceable for fishing.”
Pinkie blinked and stared as Lyall pulled the grass fibers apart and spun them into long cords. His hands danced in a blur, and he soon had several feet of the natural twine laying at his side. She thought about what he said and wondered what kind of games one could play with nets and trip wires.
After a moment of thought, Pinkie decided it didn’t sound very fun.
“Say, you’re pretty good at that!”
“Thank ya, lass. I’ve done this enough times to where I don’t necessarily need to think about it. It lets my hands wander and my mind focus.”
“What other kind of stuff can you do?”
“I’ve picked up quite a few skills in my travels. Only some of them pertain to surviving abroad. What about you, lass? What is your trade?”
“Oh, I know lots of things! I can bake, run a register, do accounting, build things, blow things up, sing, dance, but my number one special talent is making ponies smile!”
“‘Tis an admirable calling. There is far too much ruth in the world, so it is good that someone can devote themselves to curtailing it.”
“Thanks… I think. Did you know that you talk funny?”
“Bah, it’s you moppets that noise about, making up new words when there are ones that are perfectly acceptable.”
“Tee-hee! Now what about that party?”
“I will have to respectfully decline, lass.”
“Aww… Well if you ever change your mind, come look me up! Just ask around Ponyville for me and you’ll find me. Anyway, I better let you get back to your arts and crafts. Buh-bye!”
Pinkie pronked away, slipping between a leaf and a rock, and found herself in the back of the cart of a very startled Big Mac. She shimmied out of the produce and giggled as she trotted back to town.
Meanwhile, on a rock just outside Lyall’s field of vision, a raisin muffin sat with a single lit candle perched on top.