//------------------------------// // Walkin' Down Mane Street // Story: One Wrong Turn // by A Wild Magikarp //------------------------------// "Hundreds of years later, most people just thought monsters were myths. People chalked the mountain disappearances up to dangerous climbing conditions and most just decided to steer clear of it." "But you didn't?" Frisk blinked at the question before they gave a smirk and shrugged it off. "What can I say? A mysterious mountain with a spooky history? It was just begging to be explored." 'Foals will be foals I guess,' Fluttershy thought to herself as the two of them made their way into Ponyville proper. Frisk had been explaining their reason why monster was such a controversial term back home. An entire species locked away under a mountain! It was an amazing story to be sure. Opening her mouth to say something about the dangers of minors wandering the mountains alone, Fluttershy was stopped when she noticed the human was no longer beside her. Frisk had stopped short, and seemed to be staring at the nearby tree with frustration. Just as she was about to ask what was wrong, the look upon the child's face morphed into something different. The amount of soul crushing pain on the small human's face took Fluttershy aback, and she wondered what in the world could cause such a look. Approaching slowly, she gently lay a hoof on Frisk's shoulder. "Frisk? Are you alright? What's wrong?" The child flinched back at her touch, looking up at her with big, terrified eyes. They seemed to have forgotten where they were for a moment. Realization hit, and Frisk put on a shaky smile. "S-Sorry! Sorry, I'm sorry for that!" "Sorry? Sorry for what?" "..." "Frisk?" The child did not respond, instead opting to wipe some moisture away from their eyes before reinforcing their smile to something more believable. "A-Anyways, can we keep going? I'm really excited to see what Ponyville looks like!" Fluttershy looked at the human for a moment longer with searching eyes, making her concern obvious, before gently nodding and carrying on down the path to town. Frisk visibly relaxed, glad the subject had been dropped. The pegasus wanted desperately to ask more on what had just happened, but she could not find it in herself to do it. They barely knew each other, and it was obvious that whatever it was that was going on was a personal matter. If Frisk did not want to share, Fluttershy had no right to press. Silence reigned until they finally made it into town. Frisk's smile stopped being forced and took on a more earnest appearance as the thatch roof houses began to surround them on both sides and ponies of all kinds stopped to stare at the human in their midst. Frisk, though, didn't seem to mind the attention. In fact, they seemed to thrive on it. Not in the same manner as Rainbow Dash might have, but for every pony that stopped to gawk at the unfamiliar creature walking down the main road, the human had a big grin and a wave to offer. Most recovered quickly and returned the gesture, having grown accustomed to strange creatures in town since the opening of the school. Maybe even a little before that, considering all the chaos that Ponyville seemed to attract. Fluttershy could not understand how the human was taking this so well. They were in a unknown land, separated from their friends and family, being watched at every angle by ponies. If she were in their situation, Fluttershy would have likely run and hid by now. Just guiding Frisk through all this attention was nerve wracking enough! Eventually, they came to stop in front of Castle Friendship. If Frisk could look any more excited, Fluttershy would be hard pressed to believe it. The wide-eyed joy and quiet sounds of wonder the child made at the sight of the crystal tree put a smile on her own face as well. "This is where Twilight lives," she said, breaking Frisk out of their trance. "It's the weekend, so she should be home right now. It can get kind of confusing in here if you don't know you way around, so stay close please," Fluttershy said, letting herself in and ushering the human to follow. They happily obliged, content to continue ogling the building from the inside. As they made their way down the hallway towards the library, the most likely hangout location for one particular purple pony, Frisk's head was on a swivel. Looking over here at the enchanted torches on the wall, over there at one of the decorative banners on the balcony. Everything was new and exciting to them, and Fluttershy thought it a miracle that they hadn't wandered off yet. "YAAAH!" *Vreee-BOOM!* The duo jumped in surprise as the castle shook slightly, before looking at each other in concern. Fluttershy knew that voice, and though Frisk may be new to Equestria, they knew the sound of a fight when they heard it. A moment passed where both considered what to do, before more sounds came down the hall. *Vreee-BOOM!* *Vwee-BAM!* The human paled, eyes widening at the noise. Frisk knew that noise. Fluttershy watched in concern as the human began to shake, taking an uneasy step backwards. That concern turned to shock as a moment later the child seemed to find some inner resolve, before running down the hall the noises where coming from. "F-Frisk?!" The human paid no mind, continuing their charge down the hall and around the corner. Losing sight of the child proved the motivation she needed, and Fluttershy unfurled her wings and took off towards the fight as well. It was not a long ways to go. Around the corner was the entrance to the map room standing slightly ajar, and Fluttershy was just in time to see Frisk squeezing through. Putting on another burst of speed, Fluttershy made her way to the door before throwing it open, revealing a yet another unusual sight for the day. Princess Twilight Sparkle, looking to her and the human with wide eyes, horn aglow. Spike was hiding behind Pinkie Pie's throne in horror at the center of the room. The object of his fear, a bubble shield of Twilight's making, floating over the map, containing what appeared to be a stout, HUMAN skeleton, wearing a dirty blue hoodie. "SANS!" The human called out in concern. Then, much to Fluttershy's own horror, the skeleton MOVED. It turned, looking to the human child with an unnerving grin and two pinpricks for eyes in its sockets. A deep, distinctly male chuckle floated through the room as the skeleton took an all too casual pose for its current position. Leaning against the wall of the shield he was currently floating in, 'Sans' shoved one hand in his pocket, and threw a lazy wave Frisks direction with the other. "heya kid, hows it hangin'?"