Bryan ducked under Fluttershy's door to a rather nice-looking living room. While he gazed at the room, she walked into her kitchen to prepare tea. Near the door were some birdcages and a small drawer near the corner, presumably for seeds. Two rugs lay on the green wooden flooring with a stairway to the left and a fireplace to the right. In the back of the room was a couch and a chair, some lamps, and another door leading somewhere else. Looking at it all, Bryan felt a sense of belonging here.
"Oh dear..." Bryan heard from the kitchen, "That's right, I was going to get more tea in the market..."
"I can wait here if you like," he said. I could use the time to think, he thought.
"Oh, I could never leave a guest alone in my home," she replied, "I'm not sure how everyone in Ponyville will react, but I don't think it will be dangerous to bring you into town. I know somepony who could help you that lives there. We can have tea at her house."
Somepony. That's something I need to get used to again, you thought, She's referring to Twilight Sparkle. I suppose I have to keep myself from spilling my knowledge on Equestria.
"Are you sure they won't react badly? Someone could get hurt," he asked Fluttershy. This is a big risk, but she's willing to take it. Is she really so sure of this?
"Nopony in Ponyville would hurt a stranger. I trust them." Bryan could see the confidence in her eyes as she said it, and for a moment it baffled him. Trust is handed out cautiously in the real world. There's a clear difference in our societies. Perhaps I can learn something from Equestria.
He smiled at her. "Then I'll trust you. Lead the way." She smiled back and headed out the door, with Bryan following. Together they walked down the path into Ponyville. The old feelings he felt years ago were starting to come back. He wanted to stay here with these ponies, living out a silly life and forgetting his friends and family. Bryan really would have stayed here if not for his goal. He didn't want to merely live in one fiction; he wanted to travel across all fiction. Bryan wanted to learn from the creations of human writers. He wanted to change stories and see what would happen. Perhaps he could find something to benefit humanity and return to the real world. However, he would first need to confirm if what brought him here could be controlled. He would have to confirm a lot of things. For example, when was he? Twilight Sparkle had moved to Ponyville, but what she still a unicorn? The details would be sorted out when they got to the library.
As the human and pegasus walked through Ponyville, Bryan noticed the sort of reactions he was getting. Some ponies would simply stare in shock and others would run away screaming. A few ponies fainted. All Fluttershy could do was stare at the ground, cheeks flushed. They stopped at the fountain where a crowd of ponies stared at Bryan while keeping their distance.
"Um, the library is over there, inside that tree. Ask for Twilight Sparkle. You go on ahead; I'll go get some tea," Fluttershy whispered. He nodded and started toward the library doors. The crowd parted to let him through and crowded around Fluttershy when he was out of earshot. She's really sticking her neck out for me... I wonder how I could thank her? Bryan thought as he approached the great oak tree, the doors reaching up to his nose. He knocked on the door, taking a moment to sit down again so as to not scare Spike. He answered the door most of the time, right? He's small, but considering how Fluttershy reaches my shoulders, it shouldn't be a problem.
Spike indeed answered the door. "Welcome, how can I help..." Spike began as he stared at the human sitting cross-legged at the doorstep. The dragon looked as though he could reach Bryan's midriff standing up. He stared with his jaw to the floor, similar to Fluttershy's reaction.
"Hello, I was told by Fluttershy to see Twilight Sparkle. Fluttershy's buying some tea for the three of us," he tells the gaping dragon. He simply nods and lets him in, holding the same jaw-dropped gaze.
The inside of the hollow tree is lined with bookshelves carved into the tree itself, and a table made of what appears to be a tree trunk with a carved statue on top sits in the middle of the room. On the other side there are stairs leading to the upper level of the tree. There were a few chairs scattered around, but overall it felt empty when it was clean. It was almost as if the library felt more alive when books were strewn about.
"Who is it, Spike?" a familiar voice says from beyond the stairs, "I heard something about tea and - oh my..." A purple unicorn - So this is before the movie. - looks over to Bryan, eyes wide with curiosity. "Who, and what, are you?" He begins to introduce himself to Twilight Sparkle, but Fluttershy hurriedly rushes into the library and closes the door. The bags on her saddle are full of groceries, a bag of tea leaves poking out.
"Are you okay, Fluttershy?" he asks the panting pegasus. Twilight trots down the stairs with a look of confusion and worry.
"Yes... Everypony was just curious, that's all." she replies, "I-I don't think I've had that much attention before, so I'm a little woozy..." After she composes herself, Fluttershy sets her bags down and walks up to Twilight to explain the situation. After preparing some chairs and a small coffee table, Twilight sent Spike to prepare the tea while Fluttershy told the unicorn about her morning and how she met Bryan.
~~~~~
"...and I thought that while everypony would certainly be scared of him, I never thought that they would try to hurt him. So I took him with me to visit you. I thought that you would have an idea of what's going on," Fluttershy says, finishing her tea and explanation. Twilight hung on to every word while Bryan sat quietly and let Fluttershy do the talking.
"Well, I can't deny that this turned out to be a very interesting morning!" Twilight began, "But as for what brought Bryan here, I don't think I know of anything that could make travel between worlds possible, magic or otherwise." Fluttershy looked at Bryan with an apologetic look, but he reassured her with a smile.
Twilight continued, "For now your best bet is to meet Princess Celestia. She's the leader of Equestria and my personal teacher. If anypony knows about what's happening, she would." She frowned. "However, we can't get a meeting with the princess because of her duties abroad. It will be a week before Celestia returns to Canterlot."
"That's fine," Bryan replies, "I can wait as long as possible. This world seems much more relaxed compared to mine. In fact," he says, leaning back on his chair, "I actually wouldn't mind a little vacation to get to know some of the ponies here. A week sounds just perfect!" Twilight and Fluttershy smiled at this.
"I think you'll be a great friend!" Twilight says, "I'll get the guest bed ready for you tonight. In the meantime, why don't you go with Fluttershy to get acquainted with everypony? I'm sure they'd love to meet you!"
"Of course, I'd love to." Fluttershy and Bryan place their teacups on their saucers and make for the door while Twilight goes back upstairs.
"Aren't you nervous?" Fluttershy asks him.
"Only a little... But it's enough to get butterflies in my stomach," he replies. She smiles and opens the door, where a crowd of ponies await just beyond.