The sound of breaking glass caused Mark to bolt upright from his bed. He clumsily landed on the carpet, then tried to orient himself as he took in the situation. Had he hallucinated the noise? It had to be a dream, or maybe it was just something glass that fell after being placed carelessly on a counter somewhere.
Then he heard the voices. They were quiet, just barely above a whisper…and they were coming from right behind his door.
Mark froze, unable to think straight. His breathing was noticeably panicked. He tried to slow his exhales so as to not be heard. It couldn’t be them. Please, anyone but them. They couldn’t have found them. It couldn’t be possible!
His worst fears were confirmed as his door was opened and he was met with three men in dark attire. Though he never saw their faces, he was sure it was the men from earlier, the ones who’d fillynapped the pegasus.
“Well look what we have here.” stated the man in front, aiming a gun at Mark, “I guess you’re off the hook, Carter.”
Mark couldn’t move. His body felt paralyzed in a way he’d never experienced before.
“So tell me, where’s our prize?” the man with the gun continued.
Mark wanted to scream, but no part of his body would cooperate.
The gun holder didn’t appear amused. He smacked Mark’s head, causing him to be briefly disoriented. He fell onto the floor once again, and the man took the opportunity to push a leg onto his chest, letting part of his body weight crush Mark.
“I asked you a question.” he added with a snarl. With Mark unable to speak, the man turned to his lackeys. “Search the house. Remember, we’re just here for the pegasus. There’ll be plenty to go around once we’ve sold her off.” With the last statement, the man returned his attention to Mark, who still couldn’t move. It was like his eyes were the only part of him that was conscious. He couldn’t even feel his own breathing.
Soon, Mark heard the sounds of screaming, the cries slowly growing quieter. Soon, there was silence, broken only by the footsteps of the other two men as they walked down the hall, holding the unconscious pony between them.
“That should do it, boss.” chimed in one of them, “What do you want to do with this guy?”
The man with the gun pulled back slightly on the trigger, “Well we can’t have any witnesses, can we?”
In one last-ditch effort, Mark gave all his strength in trying to push the man off of him, but his body refused to budge even an inch. He tried in vain to scream once more, but it was to no avail. It was over.
“Aww, don’t worry,” the gunman mocked, “we’ll take good care of her.”
There was a sound of thunder.
Mark’s eyes shot open. His brain was in a frenzy trying to take in everything that had just happened. He realized he was still in bed, and he could now move freely. More importantly, he was still alive. His breathing slowed somewhat at this realization, but then sped up again as the next thought entered his mind: was Fluttershy still there?
He tried to move both quietly and quickly to the guest room down the hall. The door was shut, which Mark didn’t know whether to take as a good or bad sign. Hoping for the best, he slowly turned the knob, trying to calm himself once again.
Inside, there was an air of stillness and tranquility. Off to his left, the pegasus slept peacefully in the bed. Mark breathed a sigh of relief, then briefly worried she’d be awoken by it. She hardly stirred, instead rolling on her side, revealing a small, content smile on her face.
The sight was heartwarming to say the least. Mark felt the corners of his mouth rise to form a smile similar to the mare’s, complemented by an overwhelming sense of calmness that enveloped his very being. Perhaps, as the Element of Kindness, she had the ability to make others feel that way, or maybe it was just her nature. Either way, he felt infinitely better as he left the room, taking special care not to make a sound as he closed the door behind him.
The sun dawned over the distant mountains, marking a new day’s break. Fortunately for Mark, he’d managed to get back to sleep after the nightmarish episode, and in fact, he'd rested better than he had in a long time.
Sunlight shone through his window, landing on his eyes and causing him to stir. He arose and walked to his bedroom door, listening for sounds of hoofprints or anything else to indicate the pegasus was awake as well. He heard none, and opening the door, he saw her bedroom door down the hall was still shut.
Realizing he had some time before she was up, he got ready to take a shower upstairs. In addition to his clothes, he grabbed a medicine organizer with days of the week marked on it. He’d been diagnosed with anxiety only a year ago, and the prescriptions had helped to ease his mind most of the time. He hadn’t had a panic attack in a long time, though last night he started to worry he was close to one. If that were to happen, it would only worry Fluttershy more, so he knew he needed to remain calm through the situation. She needed to see that things would be alright.
He needed to know things would be alright, too.
For now, all he could do was try to stay positive. After all, he knew Twilight would be looking for her friend. In the meantime, all they could do was wait. Or was it better to go looking for her? Where would they even start? What if they just barely missed her?
He decided to discuss this with Fluttershy after breakfast. In the meantime, he showered and took his medicine. It wouldn’t kick in for about an hour, but he didn’t predict anything too troublesome would happen in that time. The organizer had the next few days marked appropriately, and the bottle holding the rest of the prescription was downstairs. He remembered having some left over, but he’d likely have to visit a store somewhere to get it refilled while Fluttershy was with him. Really, that part depended on how long she’d be staying.
“How long will she be here?” Mark mulled over the matter as he descended the staircase. He didn’t hear any noise and presumed she was still likely asleep, though her quiet demeanor could have a similar effect. He walked to her room and glanced inside. The pegasus was still sleeping soundly. This presented a problem: he didn’t want the food to be cold when she woke up, but he also didn’t want to disturb her rest. He decided to try whispering to see if he could wake her up unobtrusively.
“Hey Fluttershy,” he quietly uttered, “you awake?”
The mare hardly stirred. He didn’t know canonically whether she was a deep sleeper, but he guessed the previous night’s events had worn her out enough to warrant this. He decided to try again.
“Fluttershy, you there?”
This time, her eyelids started to move. She blinked slowly, raising her head as she gained consciousness. When her eyes met Mark’s, she gasped and jumped back.
“Sorry,” he cringed slightly, “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
She calmed down fairly quickly. “It’s okay,” she began, “um, good morning.”
Mark let out a slight chuckle, “Good morning to you, too.” he replied.
The pegasus eyed him strangely for a moment. She looked about to say something, then decided against it. He hoped he hadn’t done something to worry her.
Finally, she spoke up. “Is it alright if I use the shower again?”
“Absolutely!” he answered with a smile, “I’m going to make some breakfast for both of us in the meantime. You like pancakes, right?”
The mare nodded in agreement. “Excellent!” he continued, “You go shower, and I’ll have fresh food on the table when you get out.”
“Thank you.” Fluttershy replied with a faint smile.
The two split off, with Mark going to the kitchen. He stopped by the pantry on the way to pick up ingredients for pancakes, then retrieved a mixing bowl, pan, and measuring containers from the various cabinets surrounding the cooking area. Within a few minutes, the fluffy cakes were ready and stacked high on a plate. Mark grabbed a bottle of syrup from a cabinet and a plastic butter container from the fridge. Setting both on the table, he heard hoofsteps beside him.
“Hey Fluttershy,” he greeted the pegasus, “how’d you sleep?”
“I slept okay,” she replied, “did you?”
“Yeah, I slept alright.” he said with a smile. This was met with Fluttershy making that same expression from earlier, that look like she had something on her mind she really wanted to say.
“You doing alright?” he asked.
Her face returned to normal, “I’m alright.”
Mark tried not to show it, but this really did bother him. He wanted her to know she could trust him, and it didn’t feel like she did. Or rather, she didn’t fully trust him.
Then again, why would she? She'd just barely met him, and her only other experience with humans involved her being fillynapped. He wasn’t going to gain her trust after just a day, even if he did save her. For that matter, he didn’t expect the shy mare to befriend him that quickly either.
“Let me just grab some drinks really quick.” Mark tried to break the silence, “Is orange juice okay?”
“That’s fine.” Fluttershy replied quietly.
He grabbed the bottle of orange juice from the fridge and set it on the counter. He took two cups from a cupboard and filled both with the fruity drink before placing one in front of the pegasus and the other in front of himself. He sat in the chair beside her and bowed his head. He said grace, and the two started eating.
“So, I think we need to stay inside for now.” Mark began, “Just give a day or two in case those guys are still out there.”
“Right.” Fluttershy replied after thinking for a moment.
Mark couldn’t shake his discomfort. He decided to risk making her uncomfortable and press her a bit.
“Are you sure nothing’s wrong?” he asked, “Nothing’s on your mind? Besides all the stuff that just happened, of course.”
She didn’t respond immediately. She was definitely less comfortable now, and he worried about how she felt about him after his constant questioning. Finally, she spoke up.
“I heard something early this morning.” she spoke quietly, “It was my door shutting. I went to see what was going on, and when I opened it, I saw you walking back to your room. Did you...um, did you look in on me?”
Mark was taken aback somewhat. He thought he’d been quiet enough not to wake her, but clearly this wasn’t the case. Now he had to answer for himself. How would she take the truth? Would she be creeped out? He’d checked in on her after having a dream involving her; that certainly sounded strange to him. But then, if he chose not to tell the truth, he’d have to keep up with whatever narrative he chose.
His train of thought broke as he realized he’d been silent for a small stretch of time. He decided that while the truth could be uncomfortable, it was better she knew.
“To tell you the truth,” he began, then found it difficult to put into words what he wanted to say, “don’t take this weird, but truthfully, I kind of...I kind of didn’t sleep very well last night.”
“What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked.
“Well,” he continued, “I kind of had a dream. A nightmare, really, and one that involved you and me.”
He paused and glanced at her, giving her an opportunity to comment. She chose not to, instead nodding, encouraging him to continue.
Mark sighed, “In the dream, those men from yesterday found us. They held me at gunpoint and took you away, then the man killed me.”
He paused once again, his breathing becoming short and his mind growing foggy. The memory from the dream still haunted him; it all felt too real. For a moment after he’d woken up from the nightmare, he’d really believed something could have happened to both him and Fluttershy.
“So I checked to make sure you were okay.” he continued, “I’m sorry for waking you up, and I’m sorry if that sounds weird. I just got worried.”
Fluttershy’s expression grew sympathetic. “It’s alright,” she spoke gently, “I appreciate your concern, and it makes sense. You don’t have to apologize.”
Mark glanced at the pegasus, who had on a faint smile. He returned the expression. “Thanks Fluttershy.” he spoke in relief, then cleared his throat, “Well, we should probably finish this stuff before it gets cold.”
The mare chuckled lightly, “We should.”
The two continued with breakfast, both feeling slightly relieved. Once they'd finished, Mark took the dishes and began rinsing them off before putting them in the dishwasher.
“Hey Mark,” Fluttershy started, her quietly confident demeanor coming through just a little bit more, “you said before that I was part of a show you watch. Could I see some of it?”
Mark finished placing the last dish in the dishwasher and turned off the sink faucet. “Sure,” he replied with a smile, “we’ll watch it in my room, but first I want to show you around the house. It's got lots of stuff for you to see.”
The tour began in the living room, where there was a sofa, fireplace, and piano on a white carpet. “This is the living room.” Mark announced, “We’ve got a chess set, some old picture albums, and the other usual stuff.”
Fluttershy eyed the room, taking in every detail. What caught her eye the most was a picture on the top of the fireplace. Nestled in a black wooden frame, it depicted Mark alongside two other humans that appeared somewhat older.
“Is this your family?” the pegasus asked, looking back at Mark.
“Yep,” he confirmed, “that’s my mom and dad. We were in California at the time, which is a place south of here. It’s definitely a lot more sunny.”
“Where are they right now?” she inquired.
Mark’s expression soured, “They’re on a business trip, and it lasts for two weeks.” He chuckled lightly, “Funny thing: they actually left shortly before I ran into you.”
Fluttershy frowned, “Are you alright without them?”
Mark gave a weak smile. “Yeah, of course I am.” he replied unsurely, “I just wish they didn’t have to leave before Christmas.”
“What’s ‘Christmas’?” Fluttershy asked.
“It’s a holiday we celebrate in the winter.” Mark explained, “It’s kind of like our version of Hearth's Warming Eve.”
“I see.” she replied, “Is that why there were so many lights on the houses out there?”
“Correct.” Mark confirmed with a smile. “It’s all part of the holiday season.”
The two continued upstairs, where Mark showed his parents’ bedroom and bathroom. He then showed her the backyard, which had a large grassy area dotted with mostly melted snow. Finally, he led her back to his room.
“And this is my room, though you probably knew that.” he joked.
“I kind of figured.” she replied.
“So about the show,” he continued, “let me pull up an episode.”
While he turned on the television and waited for Netflix to load, the pegasus continued inspecting the room. Besides the TV shelf with several devices stored below it, the room contained a desk and chair, a bed, and a wooden bookshelf. The amount of books in the bookshelf drew her quickly, and she searched intently, half expecting to see something she recognized, though it was to no avail.
“See anything that catches your interest?” Mark asked, noticing the mare’s entrancement with the books.
“Twilight would’ve loved this.” Fluttershy whispered back with a smile.
“Glad you think so,” he replied, “though I doubt we’d have similar tastes.”
The two were interrupted by a loud sound from the TV: it was the sound of Netflix opening.
“Now then,” Mark continued, “shall we watch the show?”
He decided to show her the first two episodes of the first season. Hopefully that would help her understand what he knew about her and her friends: the fact they all represented the Elements of Harmony, the fact they’d met through a grand adventure, and that Twilight wrote of her lessons in friendship to her instructor, who also happened to be one of the two rulers over the land.
Two episodes later, Fluttershy was speechless. She’d had a few comments while they watched, but mostly she was left in awe, occasionally glancing at Mark, who smiled back, trying to provide some comfort and reassurance as reality slowly set in for her. After a few moments of silence, the mare finally spoke.
“How?” she whispered to herself.
“I’m not really sure.” he admitted, “This show is supposed to be a work of fiction. Your presence here just...it kind of shouldn’t be possible.”
Fluttershy lowered her head, almost seeming saddened by his comment.
“But I’m glad you’re here.” he continued.
She gave a weak smile in response. Mark returned the expression.
“So why do you like this...show?” Fluttershy asked, “Why do you like watching us?”
Mark mused on the matter for a moment. “Well, first of all, your show teaches good morals.” he explained, “The idea of good friendships is something we all need, especially in our world. You provide a nice contrast; your show is full of understanding, love, and happiness.”
“Plus,” he continued, “you guys have inspired people to try out new talents. We’ve got people composing music, writing stories, drawing artwork, and lots of other stuff. You’ve created an entire community of people, all because of your show.”
He gently knocked a fist against her shoulder, “You’re also a pretty cool group of ponies, so there’s that, too.”
Fluttershy turned her head away as she blushed. “I didn’t know we were famous.”
“Welcome to my world.” Mark replied, then an idea hit him. " Hey, you said the reason you were with Twilight in the first place was to do research, right?”
The pegasus nodded.
“Well, then how about asking me some questions and learning about a new culture?” he offered. "Maybe you'll find out something Twilight will find really useful!"
Fluttershy pondered on the idea. “That sounds good.” she replied with a reassuring smile.
The two moved to the living room area. Fluttershy took a seat on the couch, while Mark walked upstairs to a storage closet and retrieved a clipboard, paper, and a pen. He handed these to the pegasus when he rejoined her on the ground floor, then took a seat on the opposite side of the couch.
She started with general questions about the geography of the world, culture and religion, and the history of humankind. Afterwards, there was an unsurprising focus on the way humans cared for nature. She was very surprised to see that there were entire “preserves” where animals were able to run freely, and that these areas had been in some way dictated by the communities of humans living nearby.
The pegasus studiously made notes on the clipboard before she turned her attention back to her host. She suddenly seemed very concerned, scooting back slightly on the couch to put some distance between the two of them.
“Is everything okay Fluttershy?” Mark asked.
“It’s fine.” she assured him, though he didn’t believe her, “I just...um, I remembered a question…”
The pegasus trailed off.
“What’s wrong, 'Shy?” he threw in the nickname, hoping to create a less stressful atmosphere.
Fluttershy bit her lip. “What does your kind eat?”
This was it; this was the question he’d dreaded. He’d answered everything else just fine, and even the war history he’d explained in a way that didn’t make humans look like a bloodthirsty group of beasts. But this...he didn’t think she’d take it well. He needed to be careful in answering her.
“Well, first of all, we do eat meat,” he admitted, “and I know that sounds-”
“What kind of meat?” the mare asked, moving slightly further away from him.
“We don’t eat ponies.” he stated bluntly.
She seemed somewhat more at ease, though still cautious.
“We eat mainly beef, pork, fish, and chicken,” he continued, “but we also eat lots of fruits, vegetables, grains, and dairy products.”
Fluttershy wrote down some notes on the clipboard, looking over the board at Mark multiple times as she did.
“Look, I’m sorry if it’s scary to be staying with an omnivore right now,” he stated with a frown, “but it’s the truth. You expect me to give you honest answers to your questions, and that’s what I’m going to give you. I promise not to hurt you or your friends. Whether you believe that or not, it’s the truth.”
The pegasus sighed. “Alright Mark,” she finally spoke up, “I believe you.”
“So she does trust me.” The thought rang in his head, “I wonder how much.”
“Either way, was any of this helpful or interesting?” he asked, trying to shift focus away from the unpleasant moment.
“It was.” she replied plainly, “Thank you.”
Mark checked his watch. “Well, it looks like it’s about time for lunch.” he stated with a smile, “come on, I’ll cook us up something.”
Mark’s parents had been kind enough to go grocery shopping before leaving for their work trip. There was an assortment of “quick” meals - frozen pizzas, cans of soup, boxed mixes, etc. - alongside ingredients for making food from scratch. The two wouldn’t have to worry about going hungry at least.
The two enjoyed a frozen pizza together. The mare asked more questions about the local culture, to which Mark gave brief explanations of Earth politics and several different subculture groups - including a fairly obvious one…
“And you all call yourselves ‘Bronies’?” Fluttershy inquired.
“If you like the show, yeah.” Mark replied with a shrug, “Not everyone does, of course, but most do. It’s kind of like a club, except it spans the whole world.”
“How many people are Bronies?” the pegasus asked.
“Not sure,” Mark answered, “I think it’s something like 10 million.”
Fluttershy was clearly trying to contain her surprise, “10 million?”
“Are you going to do that every time I give you numbers?” Mark joked.
Fluttershy’s head hung slightly. “Sorry.” she whispered.
“I didn’t mean that as an insult.” Mark quickly added, “I just mean you’ve seemed surprised a lot lately.”
She didn’t respond.
“I guess this is all new for you, though.” Mark admitted, “If I were in your world the most mundane stuff to you would probably amaze me.”
“I guess.” Fluttershy stated, giving a faint smile.
“Though 10 million isn’t really that big of a number considering we have about 8 billion people on Earth.”
The pegasus was once again speechless, her jaw hanging. “8 billion?”
“I kind of expected you to be surprised by that one.” Mark joked, “Yeah, we have about 8 billion humans alive right now. Crazy, huh?”
Not knowing what to say, Fluttershy simply nodded.
“Well, you done with your food?” Mark asked, breaking the silence.
“Yes,” she replied, regaining her composure before her face grew more serious, “and Mark?"
He gave a quizzical look, imploring her to continue.
"I just wanted to say thanks again for rescuing me." She added, "I don’t know where I’d be if you didn’t.”
“Neither do I,” he admitted, “and you’re welcome.”
Another round of questions about humans ensued. Mark went into somewhat more detail about the wars America had been involved in. He carefully explained them, making sure to emphasize why they were necessary. This went on for a few hours, after which the two ate the leftovers from lunch for dinner, then prepared for bed.
Both the human and the pony rested more peacefully than the night before. Not only was the traumatic event behind them, but they both felt a bit more comfortable around the other. However, that same issue of trust was still present. Fluttershy still was wary of her host, and he knew it. He sighed, accepting that it would take some time for her to warm up to him. She’d already made some strides, but after what had happened with the poachers, she was bound to be nervous for a while.
Mark only hoped he could help her to feel safe while she was his guest. Everyone, pony or human, deserved to have a place they could call home, even if only for a time. That was his job - to make his place as much a home for Fluttershy as it was for him.
He really did want her to see some of the outside world, though. It’d be a literal breath of fresh air to associate the rest of his hometown with something other than being captured. He spent some time thinking over where he’d take her, though his thoughts quickly turned to worries of her being spotted, not only by a normal bystander, but possibly by those same poachers. He decided to give it one more day before venturing outside. They both needed to get out at some point - staying in all day just wasn’t healthy.
But what to do for tomorrow? He’d already done quite a bit of answering questions; he wanted to show something to her, something so unique and unexpected about his kind, that she’d want to tell everypony in Ponyville about it.
Then it dawned on him. Content with his idea, Mark closed his eyes and let his breathing slow as his consciousness faded. He retained a faint, content smile on his lips.
Tomorrow he was going to show Fluttershy the Internet.