As much as I was starting to get sick of the repetitiveness of getting hugged by one pony or another, I admit that I'm starting to get somewhat used to it now. It wasn't exactly something I would call enjoyable, but I was beginning to bear it better than I used to.
Though having said that, getting hugged by Sweetie Belle and Rarity on either side felt like getting smushed between two marshmallows. At least that much felt enjoyable.
But besides all of that, I was feeling more relaxed, more confident, with being around these ponies. Everyone that I had met today had been friendly---if a bit overly friendly---and were kind to me. I still wondered if this was something natural here or if I was just lucky. It didn't matter much in any case; they were still better than us humans. Still better than me.
I stayed with Rarity for a while before leaving, talking about our difference in cultures, histories, technology, and, not surprisingly, fashion. Despite trying to explain to her that my shirt was franchise merchandise, she would not budge on her stance of it looking hideous -- specifically, the large face of Diablo on the back of it. Sweetie Belle said she liked it though, much to her sister's appal.
Before I could leave, Rarity suggested that I should go see her friend Fluttershy. For a second I caught myself wondering about her odd name, and then realised that everyone here has a kinda weird name anyway. No doubt her friend was… well, shy. But when she assured me she was good with animals---in other words, thing like me--- I gave her an assured nod. If she was good with animals as Rarity had insisted, then perhaps she can help me out.
Maybe she'll give me some food. I couldn't believe how hungry I was considering I'd stuffed myself with apple pie not too long ago. I could feel my stomach grumble through the vibrations it sent up my shirt.
"Now you take care of yourself, Summers," spoke Rarity with care, waving me goodbye with her hoof, "And tell Fluttershy I said hello, won't you?"
"I'll see you later tonight, Summers!" Sweetie Belle cried out, her cute little voice cracking slightly as she called out my name.
I don't think anyone had been happy to see me come back round before.
"Yeah, I'll be back soon," I called back, giving the two a smile as I waved back. I turned to where Rarity had pointed me to go, setting off onto the footpath. "Don't wait up!"
"Just a straight path," she said. "It'll lead straight to Fluttershy's house," she said. And yet somehow in her short, simple explanation of direction, she completed omitted the part where the path splits into three routes!
If I gritted my teeth any harder than I was doing right now, they would probably shatter.
"Motherf--!" I cut myself short of yelling out such obscenities as I took the time to think things through. Three paths; one left, one right, and one dead center. If Rarity insisted it was a straight path, then… perhaps the side paths weren't originally there? And the center path was the right way?
Well I wasn't gonna get any closer to where I needed to go by standing still. I shrugged to myself as I made my way down the middle path, keeping my eyes forward and looking out for anything that resembled a house or a cottage -- or even a cave. If this Fluttershy was supposedly really good with animals, then maybe she lived like one, like a caveman. Or rather, cave-pony.
But as I made my way past a line of bushes and shrubbery, something shimmering and shining in the light caught my attention. I turned to it, watching as it fluttered ever slightly between a few of the branches. As I got closer, I saw it was a piece of paper. I reached over and grasped it, feeling its smooth, laminated texture on my fingers. Looked like a ticket or a coupon for something.
The strip was pretty long; around fifteen centimetres, and an inch and a half wide. The entire slip was a royal blue colour with silver glitter mixed in, glistening as the light shone off it. The born was quite thick, and coloured in gold foil. Three ponies were depicted in blue jump suits and goggles, suspended in mid flight with coloured streaks behind them.
"What's this?" I muttered to myself, straining my eyes to read the overly fancy, curly writing on the slip. It didn't help that the silver writing blended in with the glitter all too well. "The Wonder Bolts… Mid Summer Aerobatics Demonstration…?"
So this was a ticket to some sort of event? Sounded pretty big, what with them being aerobats and having such ridiculously lavish tickets made for it. Just looking at it made me feel like they put Rarity's dresses to shame. But what was it doing in a bush? Someone must have dropped it or something. Folding it in half, I pocketed the ticket until I could find who it belonged to. Maybe Rarity might have an idea.
It didn't take too much longer until I was greeted with the sight of something that wasn't trees. Stepping out from the end of the path, I immediately felt the light and the winds flank me from both sides. I never really thought of how claustrophobic it felt being surrounded by trees all the time until now. But as I looked out ahead, I saw more than that. I saw rolling green hills, swaying white clouds, and the scurrying and fluttering of so much birds and critters that it was like being at an animal shelter.
Speaking of shelter, I also spotted a small house on top of the rising hills. Or maybe it was just another hill. It was just so hard to tell -- the entire roof looked like it was made completely out of moss or something, with the only indication of it being a roof being the gable windows that jutted from parts of it. It even had tiny birdhouses plotted here and there.
Animals. Cottage. Birdhouses and nests everywhere. Yup, this is definitely the place.
Down the sloping decline and over the stone, moss-covered bridge, I found myself standing just shy on the little welcome mat that lay out the front. Hah, just "shy" of it. Oh, the puns. But perhaps that humour was what I needed, after giving a few chorus-like knocks on the front door. I had completely forgotten just how nervous I actually was as I stood waiting for an answer, contrary to what I thought earlier.
I think at this point, out of the two of us, I was the one who was gonna be the most shy.
A click sounded, and the door slowly swung inward, giving me a sudden glimpse of a part of the pony that stood just beyond it. The more the door opened, the more of the equine's body was revealed -- almost like the unveiling of a prize on a quiz show. When the door finally opened fully, I was greeted to the sight of a buttery-yellow pegasus, with long, baby pink hair that curled and folded over half of her tiny snout.
And my God, those eyes! Those bucking adorable eyes!
"H-hello?" she spoke softly, like a gentle whisper. "How can I--?" but she immediately paused her words as her big, thick lashed eyes caught up to my face. In those huge eyes of hers I could clearly see her pupils shrink back in fear. And that fear was only too quick to confirm itself as she let out a quiet yet shrill squeak as she slammed the door in my face.
As much as that was happening quite recently, it was definitely not something I was going to get used to any time soon.
But before I could knock again, the door began to open once more, though a tad slower this time. And this time, the shy pegasus peaked out from the small gap as the door was slightly ajar. I gave her a quick glance as she stared up at me and, after a brief pause, she fully opened up.
"I-I'm sorry about that, mister monkey," she apologized rather abruptly. "I didn't mean to be so rude to you. I just… haven't ever seen anything like you before."
… Now how the hell was I supposed to not accept an apology from someone so cute and innocent as her?
But I didn't really wanted to be known as a monkey, either. "Uh, I'm not--"
"Oh, my!" she exclaimed after a sudden gasp. "You can talk, too! I didn't know there were any monkeys around here who could talk!"
"Please, I'm not a--"
"Oh my goodness!" She quickly stepped towards me, and lifted one of my hands with her hoof. "W-what happened to all of your hair? Did… Did somepony shave it all off!?" The tone of her voice was like a heartbroken mother, trying to hold back her tears and her anger. "Who would do such a thing to a poor, little creature like you! Well, at least that had the decency to give you some clothes to keep you warm."
This really wasn't going anywhere fast -- or if it was going somewhere, it was somewhere I wasn't the least bit comfortable with. "Fluttershy," I called out. I quickly got her attention. "I'm not a monkey. Kind of. And I'm naturally this hairless. I'm called a 'human'."
The puzzled pegasus looked up at me, as if I was making everything up. Or maybe she was just taking it what I just said. It was hard to tell. "You're a… human…? I've never heard of one of those before."
"I'm… Uh, I'm not from around here." Her confused washed away when I clarified. Perhaps she only knew about animals native to Ponyville and Equestria as a whole, as opposed to any other neighbouring countries. "Listen---Rarity said that you might be able to help me?"
"U-um…" Fluttershy looked away from me for a brief moment before she said, "I… don't really know an awful lot about humans…" She sighed softly, and then closed her eyes. "Actually, I don't know anything about humans. But you can stay with me for a while, if you'd like? I'll take good care of you until I can think of something, little human!"
I felt pretty bad for her. Must kinda suck being this really knowledgeable person, and yet being absolutely powerless to use it to help someone. I just had to cheer her up. "I can stay for a while," I said to her. Immediately her eyes lit up, and a cute smile sprawled across her lips. "But I can't stay, you know, all day. I said to Rarity I would be staying with her."
"That's okay," she responded as she took my hands in her hoof, pulling me, leading me into her cottage. She gave a quick glance over her shoulder as she heard a familiar rumble coming from me. "Oh, you must be hungry. I'll feed you. Don't worry."
Huh. Someone leading me into their cottage with promise of food. Last time I heard of that happening, it was to fatten up two little lost children.
But I just couldn’t stop eating! I didn't care what any of this stuff was, so long as it tasted as good as everything else did. I saw everything as just morsels to sate my hunger, but I recognized some of it; slices of apple, orange, and raw vegetables that I would have probably turned down in a heartbeat if I wasn't so famished. I wasn't really one for fruit and veg -- much too healthy. Give me a bacon double cheeseburger any day.
"O-oh! I'm glad you're… enjoying it," I heard Fluttershy squeak from behind me, though just barely over the sounds of my squelchy chewing and swallows. I gazed back up at her, and felt a sudden burning feeling in my cheeks. Again I found myself ravaging the food laid in front of me, just like at the farm. I quickly composed myself the best I could, sitting up straight and using the little white napkin to clean all the fruit juices around my mouth.
"I-I'm sorry," I stuttered through my embarrassment. "But I was just so hungry. Thank you for the food, Fluttershy."
And then she gave me the most adorable, loving smile I'd ever seen. "It's okay, little human," she said, and then patted and stroked my head like I was a kitten. "You need to be taken care of."
And it happened again. I felt that same, sudden pang in my chest. I felt my body shift forward, lurching ever slightly as my right hand involuntarily shot up and clenched where my heart was. I felt it racing, beating quickly like I'd just ran a marathon.
Just what the hell is happening to me…?
"A-are you okay?" I heard a gentle whisper against my ear. Just hearing her voice made me relax -- made the pain go away.
I inhaled for a moment, and then exhaled. "I'm fine," I said to her through a forced smile, glancing over to her as she stood close by my side. "I've just… Nah, it's nothing." I waved my hand, dismissing whatever this was as probably a lack of good exercise, or stress and aftershock of winding up here.
"No, it's not 'nothing'," she exclaimed forcefully. It was pretty weird seeing her become so adamant all of a sudden. "We need to get you some help. And--"
I felt something running along my back. I've felt this before. It was one of her hooves.
"--I said I was going to take care of you, you poor--"
"No, you're not!" I bolted from my seat, just before she could wrap her foreleg around my chest. "L-look, Fluttershy, I'm really grateful for everything you've done to me---truly I am---but I just don't… Could you not cuddle me?"
I saw her eyes drop all of a sudden. Her lower lip jutted out, like she was pouting. "B-but… don't you… love me?"
Oh no. It's just as I feared the worst. One of these ponies has fallen in love with me.
"Yes! I mean, no!" I shook my head. "Fluttershy, I like you and all, but… things just won't work out!"
"But… why? We can be happy together! And you can stay with me, and I'll take good care of you, and feed you, and clothe you, and bathe you--"
"Fluttershy!" I snapped all of a sudden. I couldn't take in everything she was saying. Everything was just so damn nonsensical right now. "I'm really sorry, Fluttershy, but… I just can't love you."
She reared back. Her wings slowly unfolded from her sides and hung low, almost lifeless. Followed by her neck, as she quickly hung her head low and gazed down at the floor. All I could see were her pointed ears and her long pink mane as it sprawled out onto the floorboards.
I think… I think I might have just broke her. "Fluttershy…?" I murmured, taking a step closer. "Are you… okay?"
I heard her whimper a little, almost like a gentle sob. I felt so bad that I just wanted to wrap my hands around her and hold her close, and tell her everything would be okay. But what I got instead was something I never expected. Something I never wanted. Something that filled me with overwhelming, choking dread.
"N… No…!" I heard her gasp. Quickly she looked up at me, glaring at me with a furrowed brow and grim eyes. "No! You will love me! And you're going to accept my love and my cuddles!"
Oh God. Now she was borderline psychotic. And she was probably going to do things to me that I wasn't going to enjoy, alongside the cuddles.
I panicked. I grasped at the back of the chair I was sitting on, and swung it across the floor to try and halt her as I dashed towards the door. But all I ran into was a fluttering Fluttershy as she blocked my advance. I stumbled back, tripping over a tiny raise in the floorboards and landed on my rear. All I could do was gaze up at the now towering pegasus as she loomed over me on all fours.
"I'm gonna feed you! I'm gonna clothe you! I'm gonna bathe you! I'm gonna take care of everything you need!" Every time she spoke I felt my throat clench. I wanted to say something, but… I was just too intimidated by her. I didn't want to say anything to pushed her over the edge. Then she pushed her face closer to mine, until her nose pressed against mine. "And you're going to love me!"
But as she reared her head back, I felt something flop against my shoulder. It was pretty thick, with little flower patterns on it. Then I remembered: Fluttershy's table cloth. I could use it to get away… maybe.
"Now, you're going to accept my cuddles," commanded Fluttershy. She drew ever closer to me until she stood almost over my sitting body. Her arms reached forward, and…
Now!
My arms shot up, and gripped the corners of the table cloth that hung over me. With all I could, I yanked it forward like I was performing that age-old trick of keeping everything on the table. Except that's not what happened. Plates and bowls and other pieces of crockery struck the floor with loud crashes as the cloth flung over me. I let go of the corners, trying to fling it as hard as I could over my head and onto the crazy pegasus. She let out a gasp as the cloth landed on her, stepping back and nearly falling over herself if it weren't for the fact she had two more legs to keep her stable.
But I couldn't let it stop there. She could quickly catch up with me with her wings if I tried to run. So I charged at her, wrapping my arms under her and tried to pull her to the ground -- which, actually, wasn't as hard as I thought. I pulled her down onto her side and, grasping a couple of the corners of the cloth, tied her up in it as she began to squirm and kick out at me. Despite my exhaustion and jittering body, I managed. I clambered to my feet and, after giving the squirming pegasus a quick glance, made a mad sprint out the door and back down the path.
"… I'm so screwed," I muttered to myself over heavy breaths as I leaned on my arm against one of the trees.
And that was only ever more apparent when I heard her scream from behind me, in that distance between the path and the house.
"I'm going to find you, human!
"AND YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE ME!"