//------------------------------// // Humans in Ponyville, Chapter 3 // Story: Sunflower - Life in Equestria // by Hoopy McGee //------------------------------// If there was one thing Erika was good at, it was fading into the background. While the “Welcome to Ponyville” party swirled in front of her, she’d managed to find a shadowy recess that hid her quite well, sinking back into it until her shoulders hit the wall. She just wished that she hadn’t selected a baggy brown sweater to wear to the party, which was causing her arms and back to break out into pinpricks of sweat. The day had seemed cool enough that she’d need it when the evening came around, but she hadn’t considered the collective body heat of a few dozen ponies and humans all in the same large room. Now she was stuck sweating out the consequences. It wasn’t that she disliked parties, necessarily. She enjoyed being invited, and the buzz and murmur of conversation around her was intriguing. Not to mention, it was still really cool being this close to the ponies. It was just that crowds of strangers put her on edge. Even more so if those strangers were essentially aliens. Not that the ponies weren’t adorable, friendly, and genuinely nice. None of them had been rude or overly pushy. Well, except for their hostess, Pinkie Pie, who had practically pounced on her the moment she’d entered the fanciful-looking bakery in order to shove a glass of ruby-colored punch into her left hand and a paper plate with a slice of cake into her right. It was just that everything was so surreal that it felt like she was close to overloading. Erika much preferred observing, anyway. It was so much more fun to analyze than it was to participate. She looked around, easily picking out the humans that seemed to tower over the pony residents. Tandy, currently sporting long black hair with red highlights, was laughing and joking with a large crowd of ponies, all of whom had to crane their necks to look up at her. That made sense, since Tandy was usually the center of attention wherever she went. Erika assumed that the other woman’s confidence came from her extraordinary beauty; not only was Tandy tall and thin enough to be a model, her sculpted features, athletic physique and flawless ebony skin made her look like some sort of goddess. When she moved, it was with the grace and confidence of a dancer. Maybe it was that self-assurance that made Tandy one of the most outgoing and friendly people Erika had ever met. Tom, Tony and Cody were clumped together in a circle like usual, their backs to the ponies while they chatted and held drinks of their own. She could vaguely hear Tony lamenting the lack of “kick” in the punch, though that didn’t stop him from getting a refill every time his glass was empty. Those three always seemed to gravitate together during any social gathering, their conversations usually starting out about cars or sports, but eventually devolving into of complaints about their current job, previous jobs, or the people they had worked with in the past. Erika usually tried to avoid the three of them, especially when they were together. The middle-aged and balding Tom always seemed ready to moan about something in his life, and would do so at length to anyone unfortunate enough to get roped into listening. Tony was fond of making really awkward jokes that always left Erika wondering if he was being deliberately insulting or was really just that ignorant. Cody didn’t say much, relying on others to fill in the conversational gaps. Since Erika wasn’t exactly a great conversationalist herself, that usually ended up causing a sucking vortex of silence and awkwardness between them. Jerry was over talking to Applejack. By the looks on their faces, they were talking business of some kind. Michelle, looking plump and happy in her faded blue jeans and green T-shirt, was talking with a pair of mares, a fuchsia earth pony with three smiling flowers on each of her hips, and a blond-maned grey pegasus with bubbles for her cutie mark. Erika paused in her examination of the party to reflect on how over-the-top adorable the term “cutie mark” was. As she expected, Rob Murphy was on one end of the room, while Rob Walters was on the other. Those two didn’t get along, partially because they both insisted on being called “Rob” instead of any kind of nickname. The teams had started calling them Rob One and Rob Two, which, as number two, annoyed Rob Walters to no end. Fortunately, they looked nothing alike. Rob Murphy was short but heavily muscled and broad across the shoulders, with stubbly hair and sun-bronzed skin. Rob Walters was pasty, tall and gangly, and had a mouth like a bass. At least they seemed to be enjoying the party, even if that meant each of them pretending that the other didn't exist. Lucas was off talking to someone that Erika recognized instantly, even with the addition of a horn and a set of wings. Sunflower, or Erin, was looking up at the young man with a wide, goofy grin and sparkling eyes as they talked. Erika shook her head with a wry smile. Apparently, Lucas had no problem charming women even when they were ponies. Erika had been ready to write him off as a womanizing jerk when she had first met him, but she eventually realized that he treated everyone the same, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. He didn’t even seem to realize the effect that he was having most of the time. Whatever sexual charisma he seemed to exude had no effect on her. Oddly enough, that made Lucas the one person in the group that was near her age that Erika was comfortable talking to. She took a hesitant sip of her punch. It was shockingly cold, amazingly fruity, and it hit the spot perfectly. She finished off the rest quickly, then cursed herself for her lack of foresight. The punch bowl was on the other side of the large room, underneath a banner that read “Welcome Humans!” If she wanted anything to drink with her slice of cake, she’d have to brave the commotion of the party in order to get a refill. It was easy enough to dodge the clusters of conversation on the way over to the snack-laden table. Erika kept her head down, studying the floor and trying to avoid making eye contact with anyone. In social gatherings, eye contact often led to conversations, and she was more than happy to just get her refill and slink back to her shadowy recess in order to resume her observations. A minute later, with a freshly-filled punch glass and the addition of a chocolate-chip cookie next to the cake on her paper plate, she made her way back to her hidey-hole only to find it occupied. That fact surprised her so much that she accidentally made eye contact, her blue eyes meeting the wide teal eyes of the light yellow pegasus who was currently engaged in shrinking back against the wall. The mare had a cascade of pink mane that partially obscured one of her eyes and a trio of butterflies for her cutie mark. “Oh,” Erika said. She hesitated, not sure of what to say next. Erika looked back over her shoulder at the party, which was still in full swing. Tandy had gathered an even larger audience by this point and was telling what Erika recognized as the beginning of her “One time, I got so drunk at Cancun” story. There really wasn’t anywhere else for her to stand and be out of the way. She looked back at the pegasus, who had looked away, though with one ear cocked towards her. The shadowy space was big enough for two. Besides, it didn’t look like this mare was going to be too intrusive. “Okay if I join you?” Erika asked. The pegasus started at the sound of her voice, her ears laying back as her wings spread slightly open. After a long moment, she nodded and stepped aside to make room, even though there was plenty of space already. Erika stepped gratefully back into her hiding spot, quickly putting her back to the wall and facing the party. A few seconds passed. Erika took a sip of her punch. It was really good. “I’m Erika,” she said softly. The pegasus looked down at the floor and shuffled a hoof across it before responding in a voice that was barely above a whisper. “...Fluttershy,” the pegasus murmured. Erika blinked, her mouth hanging open in shock. Of the six Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, five were well-known on Earth. Rainbow Dash and Rarity had been more than happy to do interviews with some of the human reporters who were stationed in Canterlot. Twilight, Pinkie and Applejack hadn’t done nearly as many appearances, but were still very recognizable to most of humanity. Only Fluttershy had escaped public scrutiny. The only pictures of her were grainy shots from a long distance, or blurry pictures of a streaming tail as its owner disappeared around a corner. Princess Celestia had actually gone so far as to announce to the human reporters that anyone discovered harassing Fluttershy, be it for an interview, photos or video, would be politely but firmly escorted back through the gateway to Earth and never allowed back. And, now, here she was, not two feet from the elusive Element of Kindness. Erika’s hand itched to grab her phone in order to take a picture. She took another sip of punch, instead. Her heart hammered as she tried to think of something, anything to say to Fluttershy that wouldn’t make her seem like a complete idiot. At a loss, she settled on silence. That seemed to suit the pegasus nicely, as she eventually lost some of her stiffness and seemed to relax a little. To her surprise, it was actually Fluttershy who started the conversation. “I’m sorry,” the pegasus said. Erika glanced over at her, confused. “For what?” “I think I took your spot.” “Oh.” She considered her response for a few seconds. “It’s a good spot, isn’t it?” “Oh, yes.” Fluttershy nodded, causing her cascade of hair to ripple. Erika briefly wondered what it would look like in a French braid. “It’s my favorite spot in Sugarcube Corner. I always come here whenever Pinkie throws a big party.” Erika smiled and shrugged awkwardly. “I guess I stole your spot, then.” Fluttershy smiled back and then went back to watching the party. Erika did the same, though she set her drink down and finally tried some of the cake on her plate. The flavor exploded across her tongue, making her squeak with surprise. Fluttershy looked over at her curiously as she chewed and swallowed. “This cake is amazing,” Erika said, pointing her fork at it. “Oh, I’m glad you like it. Pinkie will be so happy to hear that.” Erika frowned out at the party. Pinkie was there, whirling from group to group while avoiding their little shadowy recess. “Yeah. I should tell her that.” “You don’t like parties?” Erika glanced down to see Fluttershy looking up at her with her impossibly huge eyes. “I like parties okay,” she eventually responded. “They just tire me out. I’d rather stay on the sidelines and watch. It’s more fun for me that way.” “It’s the same for me,” Fluttershy said. They went back to a companionable silence, watching the crowd of partygoers, which was largely a new group by this point. New ponies were coming in at about the same rate that others were leaving, which was either a remarkable coincidence, or evidence of some form of crowd control. A small group of colorful ponies had gathered to listen as Applejack and Rainbow Dash engaged Tom, Tony and Cody in a discussion that sounded like it was a couple of short steps away from an argument. The subject of the discussion seemed to be on the relative merits of football versus hoofball. It turned into a three-way battle when Rainbow Dash, using lazy beats of her wings to hover at eye level with the humans, asserted that Cloudball was better than either. Rarity and an unknown purple unicorn had joined Erin, who was glancing at the pair of them with poorly-concealed irritation as they horned in on her conversation with Lucas. At first, Erika had assumed that the purple mare was Twilight Sparkle, but on a closer look she noticed that both her mane and her cutie mark—a trio of diamonds—were all wrong. Diamond-pony seemed to be blithely oblivious to Erin’s annoyance, but Rarity kept sending sly glances Erin’s way that had the former human flushing scarlet under her light brown coat. Lucas, of course, remained completely clueless to all of this, even as he shot a sparkling smile at Erin that deepened her flush even further. Tandy’s story was still going on, much to the delight of the crowd around her. There were so many smaller stories that made up the whole of what Erika liked to call the “The Saga of Drunk Tandy in Cancun” that the retelling of it could literally go on for hours, each part of the story getting more wild and unbelievable as it progressed. To Erika’s vast relief, it seemed like the other woman was editing out the more mature parts of the story for her Equestrian audience. Erika took another sip of her punch. “This is a great party,” she said. “Mmm-hmm,” Fluttershy said next to her. A few minutes passed before Fluttershy cleared her throat. “Um, can I ask you a question? If you don’t mind, I mean?” “Of course,” Erika said, trying on what she hoped was a comforting smile. It seemed to work, because Fluttershy returned a smile of her own. “The Mayor sent out a letter a few days ago, mentioning that someone was going to stop by and set up some equipment at my house.” Erika nodded. “That was the plan, yes.” She hesitated, trying to think of how to put this next part. She knew that ponies in general weren’t all that familiar with human technology, but Fluttershy had a human friend. Maybe she knew more than the average pony did? “Do you know what wireless networks are?” To her vast relief, Fluttershy gave a gentle nod. “Oh, yes. They set one up in Canterlot last time I was there.” She giggled, covering her mouth with a hoof as she did so. “It sounded like magic to me, though Erin would roll her eyes whenever I said that.” Erika chuckled at that. “Well, that’s what we’re doing. Setting up equipment for a wireless network.” “It won’t hurt my animals, will it?” “You have pets?” Erika asked. “Not just pets. I take care of all sorts of animals. They’re my friends.” Fluttershy shuffled a hoof across the floor. “I just worry that it might harm them.” “It’s perfectly safe.” A thought occurred to her, and she frowned. “Well, it’s perfectly safe for Earth wildlife. I can’t say for certain about anything you might have here. But we haven’t seen any issues with the animals in Canterlot.” “Oh…” Fluttershy trailed off, looking thoughtful. “Look, I’ll tell you what,” Erika said. “I’ll show you how to disconnect it, if you want. That way, if you see any animals acting strangely, you can turn it off and see if they get better.” That seemed to perk the pegasus up. She looked up, smiling. “Oh, could you? That would be wonderful!” “I’d be happy to,” Erika replied with a smile of her own. “So, what kind of animals do you take care of?” Fluttershy’s smile widened as her ears perked up. She began telling Erika stories about all of the adorable animals that would come by, looking for food, companionship, or medical assistance. Judging by the flood of information that was spilling out of her, it was something the little yellow pegasus was very passionate about. Ordinarily, Erika tried to avoid conversations. She never knew what to say, which tired her out and made her feel like she had an itch under her skin, and all she wanted to do was to get away. But Fluttershy’s soft voice never made her feel stressed out or drained. To her surprise, Erika even began to reciprocate, telling stories about her childhood pets, mostly cats and dogs, though with the occasional gerbil or Guinea pig thrown into the mix. Time passed quickly, and the party continued on its own, with no further analysis from Erika. She was so engrossed in their conversation that she completely lost track of time. That ended when Pinkie Pie suddenly popped up next to them, making them both jump. “Gosh, I know I throw great parties, and I hate to end it when you’re still having fun, but I have to clean up some time!” Erika assumed from Pinkie’s wide smile that she wasn’t the least bit upset. At least, she hoped so. Fluttershy blinked a few times, holding her hoof pressed up against her chest. After a long few moments, she relaxed and smiled warmly at Pinkie. “Oh, would you like some help?” Pinkie scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Pfft, nah! I already got most of it. You two just go ahead and head out whenever you’re ready, okay?” “Oh, but I’d like to help,” Fluttershy said, looking around at the remains of the party. Erika did the same and was shocked at what she saw. The banner was gone, as were all the pennants. The food had been removed, and the floor looked freshly swept. In fact, the only mess that remained was Erika’s own empty glass and the plate and fork she’d used for her cake. “Oh, my,” Fluttershy said, touching a hoof to her mouth. “Are we the last ones here?” “Yupperoonie!” Pinkie said. “I’d have let you keep talking, but it woulda probably got awkward once I turned the lights out.” Fluttershy giggled. “I’m never the last one to leave a party.” “Same here,” Erika confessed, grinning. “Seriously, though, it was a great party, Pinkie Pie.” “I’m glad you liked it,” Pinkie said. “I was a little worried when I saw you go into Fluttershy’s corner, but I’m glad you two ended up getting along.” “My… corner?” Fluttershy asked, tilting her head and frowning at her friend. “Yup!” Pinkie jumped on top of the nearby table and reached up to tap the bulb above them with a forehoof. The light flickered on, and suddenly the little shadowy recess wasn’t so shadowy anymore. She winked and hopped back down to the floor. “It all comes down to knowing what my guests want.” “Oh…” Fluttershy said, clearly at a loss for what to say. “Um. Well, thanks. It was perfect for me, too.” Erika sent a lopsided smile Fluttershy’s way. “I guess I really did steal your spot.” Fluttershy giggled at that. The two of them made their way out the front door. Pinkie called out an enthusiastic, “Good night, and thanks for coming to the party!” as she shut the door. Erika stood next to Fluttershy in the street, wondering what to say next. In spite of all of her standard expectations for this type of gathering, she’d actually managed to have fun. She was actually kind of sad it was over, which was an experience she’d never really felt before after a party. “Um, Erika?” Fluttershy was looking up at her, illuminated by the glow of the light over Sugarcube Corner’s door. “Yes, Fluttershy?” “Um. Usually, I just stay at a party long enough so that it doesn’t seem too rude when I leave, but I actually had fun tonight.” “I did, too.” “Well, if it’s alright, would it be okay if I considered you a friend?” Erika looked down at the pegasus, who looked tiny and fragile and hopeful in the small pool of light. A joyful smile crept across her face and she nodded happily. “I would like that, Fluttershy.” Fluttershy’s smile beamed out like sunlight. “I’ll see you later, then,” she said. She waved and began moving off, presumably towards her house. “Good night, Fluttershy,” Erika called, waving after her. Erika waited until Fluttershy vanished down the street. Then, humming a happy song to herself, she made her way back to the Moondrop Inn.