No matter where you go, there you are.
It’s a quote that was made from my favorite author, AdmiralTigerclaw. In short, it really didn’t seem to matter that Fluttershy was now human. She was still able to communicate with animals and apparently she still had the Stare.
This was quite evident as Applejack and I arrived at Fluttershy’s place. As it turned out, it was the other way down the road I walked when I first came to this land. So much for getting lost if I went the wrong way. Then again, I somehow wound up there without trying so who knows what may have happened.
When we arrived, however, the first thing that happened was misunderstandings. All we saw was Fluttershy in front of a couple of bears. As a human, I don’t need to tell you how scary that would be for a normal person. Applejack proceeded to pull some rope out of her overalls and charged in with a lasso. I remembered putting some rope in her large front pocket, but that isn’t where she pulled it from. It honestly looked as if it materialized in her hand when it was hidden from view. Either that or she moved it during the run, but I dared to dream of a magical Applejack. I then chuckled loudly as I imagined the elements of harmony as sailor senshi from Sailor Moon.
The chuckle caught Applejack’s attention in mid-sprint and she looked over to me like she was about to yell something. Unfortunately, the chuckle also caught the attention of the bears near Fluttershy. They both let out a bellow and started to sprint towards us.
I’d love to say that I did something to help. That I even moved out of the way to let AJ do her thing. Unfortunately, I simply locked up. There was a pair of bears running at me. I was happy that I didn’t soil myself afterwards.
“STOOOOOP!!!”
That yell shocked me out of my stupor. Mostly because it was Fluttershy who did it. On cue, the bears stopped their charge towards us and looked back to Fluttershy.
“That is not how we treat our friends! Now you both apologize to them for scaring them!”
They started to grunt and howl something that only Fluttershy would understand. That was when she gave the Stare. It may have been directed towards them, but right behind them was me and I also caught an eyeful of it. It was like a shudder going down your spine mixed with a freezing, tingling sensation all over your body that you just wanted to stop.
The two bears quickly turned around and growled out something that I assumed was an apology. After having seen the Stare, I was somehow coming to my senses.
“I suppose it’s alright, bears. How about we agree to never try to hurt each other, alright?”
The bears grunted out something and the one closest to me stuck out its paw. I edged a little closer and shook it. I was shaking hands with a bear. Sanity is laughing at me now I just know it.
“While you’re here, Seth, you ought to apologize to them for that earthquake you caused.”
“I thought you were going to do that.”
“I haven’t been able to do that yet. However, now you can do that yourself while you’re here.”
“Should I just apologize to the bears and let them spread that around or should I wait for more animals to show up?”
“You can start with Mr. and Mrs. Bear and then we’ll see if anyone else wants an apology afterwards.”
“I suppose that can work.”
I looked the bears in the eyes. Holy crap that was some unsettling looks.
“I’m sorry about causing the earthquake the other day. It was an accident. Are we still okay? I don’t want any bad blood between us.”
The bears grunted a growled to each other a few times and then they nodded their heads and walked away. I was quite relieved how that had transpired.
The relief was short-lived as an angry Applejack grabbed me by my shirt and pulled me in close to her.
“What in tarnation were ya thinkin’? You never laugh at a bear!”
“Hey, you were ready to just charge into that situation.”
“That’s cuz I thought my friend was in danger! What were you doin’? You were just laughin’!”
I looked away.
“I’m sorry Applejack. Where I’m from, bears are not friendly towards humans and whenever they meet in the wild one or the other ends up dead. I once saw a picture of a bear knawing on a human. That’s something you don’t just forget that easily when you see a bear in front of you.”
Even though I had said that, I didn’t want to look back at Applejack. I had no idea how she would react. Fortunately, she sighed and let go of my shirt.
“Ah suppose ah shouldn’t blame ya. At least not after hearin’ that. You were right that I was about to charge in muhself so I guess we both didna react like we shoulda. Come on now. Let’s go talk ta Fluttershy.”
Applejack started walking over to Fluttershy, and I started a little after she did. Honestly, this entire situation has really shown just how awful I am. Changing them to humans against their will, potentially responsible for hurting who knows how many ponies, hitting on Applejack, showing just how much of a coward I am in the face of danger; I honestly wished I was back home and not potentially ruining lives. Let’s face it, Celestia was right. I did need lessons in friendship.
“Fluttershy, are you alright hon?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I was never in any danger.”
My thoughts were completely destroyed after I saw Fluttershy up close. Too bad my mouth didn’t follow suit.
“Wow, now I know why Photo Finish made you a model.”
Fluttershy blushed instantly and Applejack just gave me a stare that rivaled Fluttershy’s. I instantly covered my mouth.
“I am so sorry! I didn’t mean to say that out loud!”
Fluttershy just blushed deeper and Applejack just looked back to Fluttershy and proceeded to wrap her up in a hug.
Seriously though, if you’ve ever seen Heidi Klum, you would think of Fluttershy only younger and with Fluttershy’s hair style and eye color. She even had her face partially hidden by her hair like she did as a pony. She even had that angel look with her wings folded behind her back.
This whole thing with them being human was starting to become very uncomfortable in a new way. As ponies, they were just cute little ponies that you couldn’t help dawwwing over. Now, they were very real and very human-like. Not to mention the fact that none of them would be considered less than a solid eight back home. Seriously, no one here was even close to overweight or ugly. As a guy that was hot. As a brony it was weird in ways I couldn’t even describe.
I couldn’t help but think that maybe this was Discord’s plan. Leave me to my own devices and make myself go nuts and free him. It sounded like a good plan too. It would sew discord in myself and in the mane six at the same time while also freeing him in the process.
I bent down and sat on the road with my knees in front of me. I then rested my arms on my knees and my head on my arms. I had no idea what I was doing here and it was definitely not fun anymore. That really was the difference between real life and fantasy.
Despite the fact that I loved to look at my watch, I had no idea how long it was until I heard Applejack speak up.
“Hey there! Hurry up! We got ta git to Ponyville and check on everypony!”
“You two on go ahead. I’m going to sit here for a bit. I need to think about stuff.”
“What about everypony in Ponyville? They could be frightened and scared.”
“I already took care of it. I made everyone clothing and then projected an image of Celestia to talk them down. I had her tell them it was temporary and to remain calm until the spell wore off. The only ones I’m worried about are Pegasus ponies that couldn’t fly or anyone like Applejack who tried doing something in their new form.”
“Then what the hay are ya havin’ ta think about?”
“This whole situation is my fault in the first place. I got frustrated and now everyone is paying for it. I’m just a burden here. I’m an unpredictable element that could put everyone in danger unless I think through my every action several times over before I take a single step. I can’t be impulsive or thoughtless or reckless because so many ponies could suffer if I so much as sneezed wrong. And if that’s all I ever do, I could become a jittery wreck like Twilight did when she couldn’t come up with that friendship report. And if I was like that, I could end up doing something bad just like she did with her spell. The difference is that anything I do could easily end up on an even grander scale than what happened then. Case in point,” I said as I waved in their direction.
“I think you’re overexaggeratin’ the problem a bit. Though if it makes ya feel any better, ah forgive ya fer turnin me inta a human.”
“I do too.”
“I also forgive you.”
I looked up at the sound of the new voice. It was Rainbow Dash. It would be hard not to recognize that hair. Just like everyone else, she was looking mighty fine. She was a bit thinner and sleeker than most everyone I had seen. It was probably an unconscious effort to keep her aerodynamic.
“I came from Twilight’s place. I was on my way to check on Fluttershy, but I was going to go looking for you next. Twilight wants you back at the library to talk about this mess. She also wanted to let you know that I accidentally touched your coin too.”
I facepalmed.
“Why did-wait. You said accidentally. Forget about it. Did anyone else touch that coin or was it just you?”
“It was just me. She tripped coming up the stairs from whatever she was doing down there and I caught her, but the coin fell out of her hoof-“
“Hand,” I corrected. “Unless she’s still a pony, both of you now have hands.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Hey, I wonder how Lyra is taking this.”
I half-sagged my face at this announcement.
“Lyra Heartstrings is here somewhere?” I asked without a hint of enthusiasm.
“Yeah, of course she is,” answered Rainbow Dash. “You mean she hasn’t introduced herself to you yet?”
“If she’s anything like people make her out to be back home, then I think I may be glad at that fact. She can be portrayed as an OCD patient when it comes to humans. And no, don’t ask about it. It’s a form of crazy.”
“I honestly don’t really care. Let’s just hurry up and get back so we can fix this problem you made.”
I rocked back once and sprang to my feet. I then took another look at Rainbow Dash. I knew immediately that she shouldn’t be in a toga.
“Before we go, you need something more appropriate Dash.”
“Like what?”
“Well, I gave everyone a toga to wear because it was the easiest thing for me to think of. Fluttershy is the only one I’ve seen that makes it look appropriate. I gave Applejack some farmer’s clothes and as I look at you, I know you need something more suitable to go with you than a toga.”
“I don’t really care. I’m fine with this. In fact, I’d honestly rather not even wear this if Twilight hadn’t said something about being indecent for humans. What does that even mean?”
For some reason, I didn’t mind explaining this again.
“Basically, on a human if this area or this area is visible, it is considered indecent. It’s a cultural thing and has led to some interesting problems in our culture. Though, in your case it may be a bit funny.”
“Why is that?” she asked in a bit of an irritated tone.
“Well, when someone goes without any clothes in front of other people, it is called ‘streaking’. Whenever I see you flying with that rainbow contrail of yours, I think of a rainbow streaking across the sky. Hopefully you understand where I’m going with this, right?”
She looked like she did and looked away as she crossed her arms in front of her. I was honestly glad I was having this conversation. It was definitely making me feel a bit better about this. Everything was still awkward, but it was doing wonders for my mood. Speaking of awkward…
“By the way, Dash, you look quite lovely as a human.”
She looked at me wide-eyed and blushed. She then proceeded to slap me across the face.
“Now why in tarnation would ya go and do that for, Seth?”
“Well, she does! Seriously! Why is it that every mare that turned into a woman is somehow ten different degrees of sexy? This is both exciting and disturbing to me at the same time! I’m trying to act casual about it, but it just seems to creep in there on its own! It’s like having a having a beauty pageant in my house and half the contestants are family! Gah!”
I snapped my fingers and Rainbow Dash was instantly changed into a Supergirl outfit minus the cape and the back was exposed to let her wings out.
“What in the hay is this outfit you put me in?”
“It’s the outfit of a superhero back where I’m from. It’s missing the cape, though, since it would get in the way of your wings. She was super-strong, super-fast, and super-pretty. I thought you might appreciate it.”
She looked down at it for a bit. It seemed like she didn’t like the skirt, but she also seemed to give a more appraising look.
“I guess it’s alright,” she said in an unconvincing tone.
“Trust me. Back home it would be considered pretty awesome to wear it; especially if you wore it. I’m honestly picking these out with you girls in mind.”
“What about me?”
I turned to Fluttershy. I was a bit surprised to hear her speak up.
“Oh, well, um, you said you were picking out our outfits to suit us. Why didn’t you change mine? You know, if you don’t mind answering, which you don’t have to.”
“Trust me, Fluttershy, with that hair and that toga you remind me of Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of love. She was renowned for her beauty and her grace.”
“Oh, well, uh, that’s, that’s good.”
She started blushing very deeply as she continued to look uncomfortable. I knew that look very well.
“Hey Rainbow Dash!" I yelled almost too loudly. "You said that Twilight wanted to see us right? Well, let’s get going then shall we?”
“Finally! Come on! Let’s get moving!”
She emphasized that by taking off to the sky and headed towards Ponyville. I looked back to see Fluttershy still looking a bit embarrassed.
“You two as well. Let’s get moving.”
“I honestly don’t know what ta make of him, Fluttershy. He keeps actin’ like a different folk every time ah see him.”
I could hear her say that, but she had a point. I seemed to be shifting moods way too often since I got here. I hoped it was just sensory overload. At this point, I just wanted to fix things and go back to the library and wait for Discord to show up so I can rip his ass a new one for this. Magic may be cool, but sometimes it’s just a big pain.