Settling In

by A Wild Magikarp

Chapter 10

Sky sat in the middle of the large crowed of ponies that where currently occupying his living room, at a complete loss of what to do. Shortly after he and Pinkie had made amends, the energetic mare had excused herself to go facilitate the party, which wouldn't have been such a big deal if it were not for the fact that she and Rose were the only ponies he knew here, and the latter of the two had proven difficult to locate. After giving up that search, Sky had opted to make for the snack bar and see what was on the menu. After getting some strange looks at eating the entirety of one of the apple pies provided, he decided it was best that he move on before consuming the rest. As he considered the fact that he had no idea what to do at this sort of gathering, he had realized that he was missing his cat. His last recollection of Selene was putting her down before entering the house. A quick search was followed by brief period of contemplating up at the ceiling.

Brief, because it was then that he spotted her, clinging for life to one of the exposed rafters.

"How did you even get up there? It's easily ten feet!" The catatonic feline gave no response. "Here kitty! Come on Selene, there's nothing to worry about, honest! Just a few... maybe a lot of house guests. I thought you where over this the last time we had company! Mom and Dad weren't that bad where they?" Images of grabby hooves and rough petting went through Selene's mind, and he couldn't be sure, but Sky could almost swear her grip on her perch tightened, claws digging deeper into the wood.

Sky sighed."Oh for the love of-..."

"Trouble?" A familiar voice asked with a hint of amusement. Looking behind, Sky saw Rose, who was looking up at Selene with mirth.

"You could say that. Where have you been? I was looking for you a little while ago."

Rose turned her gaze back to Sky. "Sorry, I had to use the restroom, but considering your as new here as I am, I figured it would be simpler to just go find it myself. We already know where your workplace is because of Daisy and Lily, so I figured you would be ok with that. You are ok, right?" She asked nervously, remembering his reaction to her friends' curious snooping. To her relief, he simply nodded his head.

"Sure. I was just worried because nopony is suppose to be in the observatory besides staff unless given special permission. I kinda overreacted too, so no worries. Also, remind me to apologize to your friends next time we meet them. Are they still here?"

Rose shook her head. "No, they headed out a little bit after you left to find Pinkie. We all have our flower stands to set up early tomorrow, so they went back home. I should probably be doing the same, I just had to use your toilet and say goodbye. It's the second one on the left by the way." Sky nodded, and they both looked back up to the cat in the ceiling. "So, kitty isn't too found of crowds huh?"

"Or ponies in general. She really only likes a few ponies, mostly friends and family, the exception being my mom. She's a bit too clingy for Selene's taste it seems." Sky shook his head in exasperation. "I don't now how to get her down from there. I guess I could just wait until company is gone, but I don't know how long that would be. A passing pegasus tried to get her down for me, but she wouldn't budge, and I don't want to hurt her. It's really becoming quite asinine at this point."

Rose tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Ummm... as-in-what?"

"Ridiculous. Sorry."

"Ah," she responded. "Well, she does seem rather intent on staying right where she is. I don't think forcing her down will work... Hmm..."

Rose looked around for ideas, and spotted something of interest. Her smile returned and she looked back to Sky.

"Wait here, I'll be back." And with that, she pushed her way back into the crowed. Sky blinked in confusion at her sudden departure, but shrugged mentally and obediently stayed right where he was. A few minutes later, Rose returned, with another pony trailing behind. This one, another pegasus, had a large, rose colored mane draped over her face, keeping her eyes out of view. A soft yellow coat covered the rest of her body, which was lithe and almost frail in appearance, and carried in a way that spoke volumes of her insecurity. She appeared so small compared to the ponies around her, what with her tiny physique and submissive posture. It seemed as if too strong a summer breeze might carry her away.

"Alright then! Fluttershy, I would like to introduce you to Night Sky. Sky, this is Fluttershy. She can help you with your cat problem."

Fluttershy looked up from the ground, revealing one half of her face. The other half was kept hidden behind a curtain of hair, which formed an effective wall between her and the rest of the world. One big, cerulean eye looked into his, before quickly darting back to the ground upon seeing him look back. A brief pause, then she spoke in a voice so quite, Sky had to strain to hear over the noise of the surrounding ponies.

"Um... h-hi Sky... I'm... I'm Fluttershy. I-I heard you may need my... my... help?" She retreated into herself at the last part, bringing her left hoof before her right and rubbing anxiously. Sky looked back to Rose, uncertain of where this was going. Surely she must have grabbed the wrong pony. How could this mare, who seemed about ready to wilt away where she stood, help him with a scared stiff Selene? Roseluck simply nodded her head in encouragement before smiling and waving a farewell, making for the exit. Returning the wave, Sky returned his gaze to Fluttershy and decided to simply go with it.

"Yyyes, yes I do, Miss Fluttershy. You see, my cat, Selene isn't to found of strangers, so obviously an event such as this doesn't suit her. This was a surprise however, so I had no time to put her away someplace quite, and... well..." He pointed up at the ceiling, where his fuzzy friend was currently doing her best impression of a bat, hanging upside-down from the rafter, unmoving. Unaware of his gesture to the ceiling, Fluttershy chanced a look up to see why he had stopped. Upon seeing his hoof, she too looked up, and saw the feline desperately hugging the wooden beam, and let out a gasp.

"I have no idea how she got up there, honestly." Sky said, rubbing the back of his head. "There really isn't anything nearby she could have jumped from, and I can't imagine that she managed to-"

"Oh you poor thing!" Fluttershy interrupted, much to Sky's shock. She seemed to have completely forgot about him, as she launched herself up to Selene's level, and began to gently stroke the cat's back in a loving manner.

The change in Selene was noticeable, and almost instant, as Fluttershy's gentle hoof-strokes seemed to pull her out of a trance. Eyes once glazed over regained clarity, and muscles tightly clenched loosened up. Her grip on the wood also loosened, and eventually released as she accepted Fluttershy's calm embrace. Now holding the cat in her hooves, the mare began to pet Selene on the head lightly, cooing quietly to her in a relaxing way.

"There there, it's alright, nopony here is going to hurt you. It must have been awfully scary being surprised like that, huh?" Selene meowed her response, then began to purr. Fluttershy nodded, seeming to understand. "Oh I know how you must feel. It's no fun being scared out of your coat is it? I'm sure they weren't trying to be mean though. It was just meant to be a surprise for you and your friend here. Feeling better now?"

Selene's response was to continue purring. Fluttershy gave a quite giggle, before turning back to Sky, and gently setting the cat on his back. Despite the crowd surrounding them, Selene, to Sky's pleasant surprise, simply lay down there and closed her eyes, completely calm. It was a miracle. Selene was a very relaxed pet most of the time, but as soon as somepony came over to visit, with few exceptions she was nowhere to be found. Now here she was sitting on his back, content among the largest group of ponies she had seen in her life.

"How... I, um... what?"

Fluttershy never stopped her ministration of Selene, but turned to address him. "Oh don't worry, she was just a teeny bit scared of being surrounded by strange ponies. One of my hedgehog friends back home has the same problem. Sometimes all they need a reminder that they aren't alone, and they calm right back down." She briefly stopped petting Selene to play with her mane, smoothing and straightening it out in a way that drew attention away from her face; whether that was intentional or not, Sky could not tell. "I understand how they feel. I know it helps me when I know I have my friends with me."

"Really? Normally when company come over I just let her do whatever she wants. I tried forcing her to stay, by after a while, I just kind of gave up and let her do her thing."

Fluttershy's eyes widened, and she shook her head lightly. "Oh no, you never want to force her to stay! You should make sure she understands it's safe before trying to force her into a situation she thinks is scary. Try having her relaxing in your lap, and ask ponies in when you know she is calm. If you keep petting her when others come in, she knows that everything is fine, and that she is ok where she is."

Then, just as suddenly as she had gained her nerve, the demure pegasus seemed to realize what she was doing, and retreated back into herself, pushing her hair back in front of her face and regressing into the shy, nervous state he had first seen her in. The magical properties of an animal in peril had seemed to have worn off as the realization that she was talking with a stranger hit.

"You know... if you want to, that is."

A stab of sympathy for the mare went through Sky, and he felt the need to encourage her.

"No-no-no, I think your right! That makes much more sense then what I was trying to do. Do you have any more advice for dealing with her? I could use all the help I can get."

There was a look of surprise on her face, before her posture once again relaxed, if only just noticeably, and she began to smile.

"Well, the first thing is that you aren't really 'dealing' with her. Animals might look and act differently, but they feel and think much like we ponies do. You just need to understand her a bit more and what she's thinking. Not to say that you don't understand your pet I mean! Just that, um, well..."

Sky nodded his understanding. "I see. You must know a lot about animals then! I guess that's what those means?" He asked, referring to the trio of butterflies making up her cutie mark.

Fluttershy nodded. "Sort of. You see I have the ability to communicate with animals on a different level than other ponies. Well, most animals. Some predators still won't listen, even if you try to talk with them. That's why I still stay out of the Everfree, especially after dark."

"Wait, really? You can actually talk to animals?" A nod. "That's amazing! I knew that a cutie mark showed something special about the owner, but I always thought that was just something they were exceptionally gifted at. I've never heard of a cutie mark manifesting in such a unique gift before!"

The quiet pegasus took his response in stride, her smile growing to actually show teeth, cheeks tinged with a light blush at the compliment.

"So, what do you do then? Are you the town veterinarian, or some kind of wildlife manager?"

"Oh yes! I take care of all of the animals in Ponyville, except for the ones that already have owners. Many of them actually live with me up in my cottage on the edge of the forest. Henry takes care of everyone when I'm away, but normally I'm the one who feeds, waters, and cares for them."

Sky grinned. "Sounds like life must be awfully interesting for you. What's it like taking care of so many animals?"

"What do you want to know?"

"I don't know. What do YOU want to talk about?" He asked, realizing to late his mistake as Fluttershy's smile widened, threatening to compete with even Pinkie Pies face splitter.

---

"-so that after the mamma bird is done, she can feed her chicks without having to worry about carrying the food in her beak all the way to the nest. I always thought it so interesting how they did that. Now that you think about it, birds and pegasi have a lot in common. Our wings are the same, we have air sacs like them, and we also have primary and down feathers like cockatiels. Why can't we do that? Oh, and why don't we have to preen? Can you imagine how much fun that would be? Of course then we would need uropygial glands, and-"

Sky felt the need to scream build up inside of him. He thought that the discussion on the courtship process of arachnids was creepy. But this... this level of awkwardness was something he had not felt since his father had sat him down for 'the talk'.

'Why me, Faust? Why me?'

Just as he felt he might go dunk his head in the punch bowl, another voice addressed his companion.

"Hey Flutters, it's getting kinda late, and Tank needs to be fed. Do you want me to fly you home, or do you think you can make it by yourself?"

Sky opened his eyes to see 'Dashie' standing next to him and Fluttershy. The look of amusement was evident, as she seemed to understand what exactly Sky was going through. The smug look on her face briefly made him consider wiping it off, before he realized exactly what he was thinking and perished the thought.

"Oh no, that's quite alright Rainbow Dash, I think I can..." Fluttershy stopped and took a moment to look out the window at the front and see the almost complete darkness that had taken over the landscape. The sun was long gone, and a crescent moon had taken its place, doing very little to illuminate the landscape. Her mood changed suddenly as alarm became her most prominent feature.

"Actually yes, yes that would be nice. Thank you Rainbow."

The other mare, who Sky now knew was called Rainbow Dash, nodded. Fluttershy looked back to Sky, and her anxiety briefly took the back seat once more, as she gave him another friendly smile.

"Thank you for listening to me for so long. I don't really do well at these sort of parties, so I normally just sit in the corner. It was nice talking with you, maybe we could do it again some other time?" She asked, hopeful.

Sky began to sweat. On one hoof, a new friend. On the other, more discussions like the one he had just been rescued from. He began to nervously rub the back of his head.

"Ahehehe... Um, sure, I don't see why not!"

"Oh that's wonderful! Maybe next time you can tell me all about what you do! I bet it's even more interesting that what I talked about... Anyways, I had better go. See you later Sky!"

With that, Fluttershy excused herself and made for the door, apparently to wait for Rainbow Dash, who Sky realized was still there, and looking at him. He turned to return her gaze, and saw a pensive look on her face. "What?" He asked.

Her frowned deepened, now taking on the distrusting, distasteful look it had displayed earlier. "You made friends with Fluttershy." She responded. "I'm not sure whether that is impressive, or really, REALLY easy, considering she is nice to everypony."

Sky huffed a little, taking slight offense to the fact she was judging him and his ability to make mutual friends. "Well, I am sorry Miss Dash, if I have offended you personally in some way, but your friends seem to have forgiven me my transgressions, and I would ask why you can not do the same."

Now the rainbow pegasus scowled at him, like what he had said left a bad taste in her mouth in some way.

"Don't call me miss, it's way too stuffy. But DON'T take that as me saying were on good terms! Pinkie and Fluttershy may like you, but I don't appreciate it when ponies hurt my friends, no matter what they may think of you now. You made Pinkie cry, and it will take more than a few nice words between the three of you to change my mind about you. We clear?"

Sky felt as if he should have felt some sort of bitterness at her angry words, but all he could muster from within himself was a sense of sadness. Of all the things to do on his first day in town, making an enemy was not on the list.

"Crystal." He answered.

Rainbow Dash nodded, and without a goodbye, took off out the door, closely followed by her mellow companion. With their absence, Sky realized that he was now alone in the home with Selene. It appeared that the rest of the party goers had left during his talk with Fluttershy, and now he was standing by himself in a largely empty room, with nary a sign that it had been packed to the brim just an hour or so before.

'Pinkie Pie cleans up nicely. Not a crumb or spill to be seen! I have no idea how or where she took the extra tables when though...'

With a sigh, Sky took the time to observe his new home, one he had not been able to get a proper look at due to the copious amount of ponies that had been occupying it until recently. The walls of the living-room and what he could see of the hallway where textured drywall, painted a relaxing wine red color.

The kitchen, separated from the main living area only by a boundary where the carpet gave way to dark oak, had light tan walls and simple linoleum counter. A pantry could be seen in the far corner, and under-the-counter space was made obvious by the numerous doors resided under the lip of the counters. Back in the living space, there was a single simple looking, but rather long couch, a table, and a chair. Their where two windows in sight, one at the front of the house and one over the sink in the kitchen, both having a wooden rim on the bottom of them for setting a picture or two, or perhaps a vase. Overall, it was a very calm, homey feel that the building gave off, much nicer than the simple brick exterior would lead one to believe.

Grinning, Sky turned and grabbed Selene, who was still resting on his back, by the midsection and set her down. She mewed lightly in protest at the sudden lack of body heat to keep her warm, but soon spotted the couch and decided it was as good a place as any to settle down for the night. Sky doubted there was a bed ready for him wherever his room may be, so he was prepared to join her on said couch, before a knock on the door startled him slightly. Looking to the front, he paused, wondering who it could be. It didn't appear as if anypony had left anything, as the space was empty of anything except the furniture. Rose had gone home after introducing Fluttershy to get ready for an early start tomorrow, and the last things the fillies should be doing is staying out this late.

Another knock, and Sky decided the easiest way to find out who it was at the door was to stop leaving his unexpected guest waiting. He approached the door quickly and opened it, to see several bags of luggage floating in front of him in a light blue aura. He blinked owlishly.

"Did thou meanest to leave thy luggage on the train to Appleoosa, Night Sky? It was received with much confusion by us in Canterlot upon its return."

Author's Note:

A thanks to my editor, The Great Derpsby, as always.

And for those of you that cry foul that I use feet instead of hoofs, or compromise and use metric, I turn your attention to season 2, episode 11, where Twilight refers to it as an 8 foot candy cane. HAH, take that fellow writers, there is no need for an alternate measuring system!

... I'm sorry, I just find it annoying sometimes when someone uses hoofs as a scientific measurement in their story, when A.) Its is never mentioned in the show, and B.) REALLY hard to understand proportions of stuff with something as vague as cartoon pony feet... hooves. Also, I'm American, and that means I am entitled to be lazy in the little things!

Comments

[Bronzedragon]

Kudzu is right the dreaded tyopo is everywhere.

but considering your as ]knew her as I am, [ new here ]
She really only like a few ponies [likes ]
that was just something they where exceptionally gifted at. [were ]
Sky doubted their was a bed ready for him [ there ]

[A Wild Magikarp]

5949576 Thanks, fixed.
... So was that spelling mistake to make a point, or...?

[Bronzedragon]

5949633

eeeyup

[A Wild Magikarp]

5949753 Got it. So what did you think of the chapter overall? Derpsby is the only one why regularly gives me feedback, and I would like to know how I'm doing, and how I can improve.
... I'm not comment hungry!

[Edguy0009]

I liked the end.🤣