//------------------------------// // Lessons and Cupcakes // Story: The Encounter // by Winter_Solstice //------------------------------// A quiet afternoon a few days later found the alien seated on the floor in his room, with Fluttershy, Twilight, and Pinkie sitting about him. There were simple picture books scattered on the bed, the first attempts by Twilight to teach him Equestrian. It was going better than she’d hoped. They’d allowed him to clean himself up, and Rarity had made a simple tunic and some pants for him. His eyes had lit up when he’d been presented with the clothing, and he’d used the opportunity to use one of the first phrases he’d learned: “Th-Ak yuu.” His pronunciation still needed some work. Even so, Rarity had blushed and told him it was no trouble. She’d had a couple minotaurs as customers before, so she’d loosely based his proportions on those patterns. She was still a bit nervous around him, so after giving him her gifts she’d politely excused herself. Twilight, however, was fascinated with him. As far as she could tell, he had a keen mind and was eager to learn. The scholar in her rose to the challenge, but it was a struggle for her to slow down and be patient in her instructions and await Fluttershy’s translations. “No, no. It’s pronounced “A-a-a”, not “ahhh,” said Twilight. The alien repeated her sound while looking at the book. When she smiled and nodded at his better attempt, she moved on to the next letter. This went on for about an hour when Fluttershy quietly suggested they take a break. The alien yawned and stretched his arms, then spoke briefly to Fluttershy. She listened, then turned to the others. “Char-Elles wants to know what’s going to happen to him. Also, he’s a bit hungry.” This was the moment Pinkie had been waiting for. “Wait right there!” She bolted out of the room. The others looked at each other in confusion, until she came back in bearing a large box on her back. Setting it down in front of the alien, she grinned from ear to ear as she slowly opened it. Inside was a variety of cupcakes and donuts, all freshly baked. The alien hesitantly reached for a cupcake, then looked at Fluttershy. She smiled and nodded, so he took one and slowly brought it to his mouth. Pinkie leaned forward watching him until she almost fell over. The alien took a small bite, and then his eyes rolled up in his head. Quickly finishing off the first one, he started to reach for another, but then picked up the box and offered it to the others. When they all politely declined, he helped himself to the rest. Pinkie was overjoyed. “I knew he’d like them!” Twilight smiled at her friend and then turned to Fluttershy. “Tell him this: until we can find a way to send him home, we’ll help him to adjust to life here. But tell him I’ll do everything I can to get him back to his people.” Fluttershy spoke to him, and he looked at Twilight, then nodded. “ThaK yu.” ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Despite the best efforts to the contrary, word quickly spread in Ponyville some kind of alien was now residing in Twilight’s castle. The reactions ranged from cautious indifference to just short of outright panic. “What will we do if it gets loose? And what if there are more of them?” Roseluck asked her companions, Daisy and Lily. “The horror!” cried Daisy. “Won’t somepony think of the children?” “Let’s go talk to the Mayor!” said Lily. “We can’t have that monster living here, just waiting for an opportunity to gobble us up!” Applejack was just closing up her stall next to them when she overheard. “Calm down, you three. Twilight knows what she’s doing.” They all turned on her. “How can you say that?! What if…what if it eats her?!” said Daisy. Applejack rolled her eyes. “It’s not like that. It just wants to get home, and it’s not dangerous.” “How do you know?” said Lily. “Because I saw it when it first showed up, and yes, it scared me then. But Luna’s Guards caught it easily after that and took it to Twilight. Luna Herself put it in Twilight’s control. If it was dangerous, Princess Luna woulda taken it to Canterlot, or gotten rid of it. I ain’t scared of it now.” All they heard was she’d seen it. “You saw it?! What does it look like?” said Roseluck. “I heard it has big, sharp teeth, long spindly tentacles, and it’s ten feet tall!” The other two gasped at this description and came close to fainting. The loud conversation had drawn a small crowd, so Applejack looked around before answering. Applejack sighed. “No, no…nothing like that. It is tall, but its teeth aren’t that big, and it seems pretty harmless.” There were suspicious murmurs from the crowd, so Applejack raised her voice. “Okay, listen everypony: I don’t trust that thing, but I do trust Twilight. She won’t let anything bad happen to us, an’ you got an Apple’s word on that! If that ain’t good enough for ya, then that alien is the least of your worries!” This answer seemed to satisfy most of the impromptu gathering, but Daisy and her friends still looked worried. “Are…are you sure, Applejack?” she asked. Applejack started to make an impatient retort. These three were known to faint if the wind suddenly shifted, so she could feel her patience slipping. But then she saw the real fear in the ponies’ eyes and remembered her own initial reaction to the alien. “You got nuthin’ to worry about, sugarcube. We got things under control.” She finished packing up her stall and headed for home. She thought about the recent events to herself as she trotted. Despite what she’d told them, she was still a bit nervous around that thing and wondered what it was doing now. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Oh dear God, those cupcakes were amazing! It was all I could do not to wolf down the entire box at once, but I remembered my manners at the last moment. I still badly wanted, no, needed to get home, but if the food was this good I could afford to stay a bit longer. I still could use a steak or a hamburger, though. I knew Earth equines could eat meat if they had to, but I didn’t suppose these could, and I hesitated to bring it up. I didn’t need any right now. Right now I had to learn this weird language. I was never good in school when it came to learning other tongues, but then I’d never the same motivation as I did now. Maybe it was my overactive imagination, but when I looked into the eyes of those guards and remembered my first encounter with that princess, I knew that killing me wasn’t off the table. So I figured I’d better learn how to properly express myself because I reasoned Fluttershy wouldn’t always be there to speak up for me. Even if I’d been so inclined, there was nothing to be gained and everything to lose if I’d resorted to violence. Besides, I was starting to feel real affection for Fluttershy and Pinkie, and respect for my teacher Twilight. I saw she was an Alicorn as well, but she lacked the height and the ethereal mane of Luna. Plus, she was far more approachable. Also, there was no denying they all were almost unbearably cute. All but those bat ponies. They still gave me the willies. I got up and looked out the window as they spoke among themselves. From my vantage point, the city was a bit of a blur, but I could make out individual buildings. It all seemed very rustic: there wasn’t a building over two stories as far as I could tell, and they seemed to favor thatched roofs. I couldn’t see any power lines, but I knew they had some form of electricity. The technology wasn’t that advanced, though. When I’d talked about computers, Twilight had gotten excited and asked me all about them. I knew Fluttershy was having a hard time explaining, as some of the words just didn’t translate, but she did her best. I wasn’t able to tell her very much, other than how they were used. Even if I could build one, I wasn’t sure these beings were ready for something like the Internet, or at least the one I knew. As I stood there musing, I was joined by Pinkie and Fluttershy. Thinking of home? “Hmm? Yes, I was. But I’m starting to like this city of yours.” I turned to her. “If it’s possible, I’d like to see more of it.” Pinkie asked her a question, and she answered while gesturing at me. Pinkie’s eyes got bigger, and she started a long, animated speech, and grew more excited as she went along. I smiled. I was starting to really like this hyper pony. True, she didn’t seem to understand the concept of personal space, but I didn’t hold that against her. Finally, she stopped for breath and gave Fluttershy a chance to translate. I was amazed. I was beginning to believe Pinkie could breathe through her ears, from the quantity of words she could produce at once. I turned to Fluttershy. She says she thinks that’s a great idea, and she’d love to show you around. I cocked an eyebrow. “That’s all she said?” Fluttershy giggled. That’s the heart of it. She’s very excited. I smiled at Pinkie, and then said to Fluttershy, “I guess this is all up to your Princess. From what she said, I’m too scary to be seen right now.” Actually, Twilight can decide. Luna put you in her care. “Really? I suppose that’s good then. Maybe we can ask her later.” Twilight must have caught her name being mentioned, for she joined us at the window and spoke to Fluttershy and Pinkie. While they were talking, I looked up and noticed all the books I’d scattered over the bed were now in precise piles. Hmm. If this alicorn is also a neat freak, we may not get along after all. I tend to be a slob. Fluttershy caught my attention. She says it’s a good idea, but not right now. I shrugged. “That’s okay. I really wanted to go for Pinkie’s sake, but I can wait.” I looked at Pinkie to see how she was taking the news. She didn’t take it well, and in fact, she seemed positively miserable. In an effort to cheer her up, I absently reached down and scratched her behind the ears. I quickly pulled my hand away once I realized I was treating her like a pet, and started to apologize, but she shot out a hoof and placed my hand back on her head. I didn’t need a translation to know what she wanted, so I gave her ears a vigorous scratch. She leaned into my hand and closed her eyes. It got awkward after a few moments, so I stopped. She pouted, and pointed at her ears again. Twilight said something to her that made her pout again and sigh, but then she nodded. Both Fluttershy’s and Twilight’s cheeks were flaming, but Pinkie seemed not to notice, as she just sat there with a dreamy look on her face. Twilight pointedly cleared her throat, and then spoke to Fluttershy. Afterward, Fluttershy turned to me and said Twilight was very happy with the progress I’m making, and they’d continue tomorrow. I smiled at them both and nodded. They started to leave but noticed Pinkie still hadn’t moved. Twilight nudged her, and she startled as if she’d been sleeping. Looking up, she said something to me that I assumed was goodbye, and skipped after her friends.