Thicker than Water

by FoggyHunter

Introductions

Chapter 3: Introductions

The trip to Fluttershy's home was peaceful, if mostly uneventful. Fluttershy flew low to the ground at a slow, steady pace, humming to herself again, while her newest guest followed closely behind. 'This is kind of odd,' Fluttershy thought to herself, 'here I am, leading an almost complete stranger back to my own home who isn't even a pony, or any other creature that I have ever met before. Not only that, but he seems to know my name for apparently no reason whatsoever.' The thought of doubt, however, was swept aside as she turned to see those wise, emerald eyes of his. As he noticed her looking his way, he gave her that genuinely kind smile of his. It was that smile and those eyes that made Fluttershy feel so safe around the 'human'. Fluttershy (with a slight blush on her face now) turned her sights back towards home as it began to come into view.
-------------------------
Trevor was genuinely surprised when he saw the young pegasus' home. It was as if some cosmic being took a simple cottage and a hill and smooshed them together into a coherent structure. Think hobbit hole. It was, for lack of a better term, impressive. It also gave Trevor an almost humble feeling. 'Ah, to be able to live a life so peacefully,' Trevor thought.

'Looks flammable,' said a dark voice from the back of Trevor's mind.

'Quiet, you,' the Traveler thought back. At times, this voice can be an annoyance, but Trevor knew that the owner of the voice was a necessity. The voice grumbled something unintelligible, probably some form of insult, but Trevor ignored it as he came upon the entrance to the yellow pegasus' humble abode.

After opening the door to her cottage, Fluttershy turned again towards the Traveler while making a slight gesture with her hoof towards the inside of her home and said, "Well, th-this is it, home sweet home. Please try to make yourself comfortable while I put away these herbs." The yellow pegasus indicated the saddle bag she still had on before heading deeper into her home. She would have added, 'if you want to, of course' to the ended of that, but didn't have the chance before Trevor just smiled and nodded. Trevor had to stoop low in order to enter through the pony-sized doorway before he took a look at the interior of the cottage. It was … interesting to say the least. The floor was a green hard wood with a pink rug in the middle. Throughout the cottage there was furniture with decorations and paintings of nature in bright colors. The most interesting part of the home, however, was the many mini staircases and walkways that ran along the walls and roof. Each one of these staircases/walkways led to a little hole or entrance of some kind of mini-home for smaller creatures. There was also an abundance of birdhouses hanging from the ceiling. A quick psykic scan of the room told him that the tiny homes were occupied, albeit with very scared residents, save for one rabbit who was currently eyeing the traveler suspiciously.

"Quite the animal lover," Trevor thought aloud. Of course he somewhat already knew that from his little mind probe of the feathered equine, but he didn't quite expect it to be so… pronounced. The Traveler spotted what looked like a green couch and decided to take a seat. For a couch that was not designed for human behinds, it was quite comfortable nonetheless.

'Explain to me again, why are we here?' the voice asked.

'We need to establish good relations with the locals or else things can get unpleasant,' Trevor mentally replied. Before the voice could continue, Fluttershy's voice could be heard from the kitchen (at least Trevor assumed it was the kitchen), "Would you like anything to drink, Mr. Traveler? I have some tea, if you like."

"I would love some tea." Trevor replied. He still had that damnable hangover taste in his mouth.

'That's not what I meant,' the voice continued, 'why are we on this world?'

'You know damn well as much as I do that the jumps are always random' Trevor replied, starting to get annoyed by his permanent companion's bickering.

'But it doesn't have to be, I could always direct the jump.'

'Just to land us in some hostile territory where you get to take control most of the time? No thanks. You know I don't like getting into unnecessary fights.'

'And that's why you're no fun'

Trevor smiled slightly at this. The smile grew when he saw Fluttershy enter the room, a large plate with steaming tea cups held in her teeth. When she put the plate on the ground Trevor said his thanks, picked up the cup closest to him and took a sip. His eyes bulged.

"Um, is something wrong?" Fluttershy asked, worried by her guest's reaction.

Trevor was able to pry the tea cup from his lips, which looked like it took some effort, and said, "Not at all. In fact, this is by far the best tea I have ever had." It was true; the tea was at a perfect temperature, tasted of honey and blue berries, and warmed every inch of the body. The damn hangover taste didn't stand a chance against this new onslaught of delicious flavors.

Fluttershy blushed at the compliment. "Oh, well, it's j-just an old recipe I had for a while now, I'm g-glad you like."

'And who was it that didn't want to be here?' Trevor thought mockingly towards the voice in his head while taking another sip. The voice merely grumbled something unintelligible in response.

"Um, Mr. Traveler," Trevor's attention was brought back to the yellow pegasus, "I was wondering… if it's not too much trouble … if you could, um, come meet a friend of mine… not that you have to or anything. It's just… I'm sure she would want to meet you…if that's ok with you."

'More hindrances?' cried out the voice in the back of Trevor's head.

'Shut up, I'm sure it took quite a bit of courage to ask that question.'

'COURAGE? THIS PATHETIC FEATHERY SACK OF SHI-'

'SHUT! UP!' Trevor yelled mentally. Insults to himself he can handle, but he would not stand any insults towards the soul who was kind enough to invite him to her own home and treat them to drinks, even if the insults were coming from someone that was technically a part of him. That, and the tea was pretty dam good.

"I guess you don't feel like going. That's ok, I understand." Trevor was once again brought back to reality by the soft voice of his hostess. Fluttershy had noticed his little internal conflict from a few twitches he had on his face and took this as a negative towards her proposal.

"Actually, I would love to meet this friend of yours."

Fluttershy looked back in surprise from this sudden acceptance. Only two seconds ago it had seemed that he was reluctant. 'Maybe I mistook his reaction,' thought Fluttershy, 'he is, after all, not exactly a pony.'

"Oh, um… ok, I'm sure she'll be pleasant to talk to."

"When can I meet her?"

Again, Fluttershy was surprised by the Traveler's forwardness. Such a contrast to the peguses' own character.

"Well, we… uh…we could go see her now, if you want."

"Sounds good," Trevor replied as he got to his feat, another of his signature smiles plastered on his face. "Of course, I am going to need a guide. I'm not really familiar with this area."

"Oh, of course, just let me, um, put away the tea." It was right then and there that Trevor noticed that the pegasus could pick things up without fingers. It was as if her hoof touched something she wanted to pick up and it just stuck. 'Meh,' thought Trevor (to himself this time), 'seen weirder thing in my time.'

As the yellow pegasus was putting the tea set away, Trevor stepped outside to enjoy the sun and peaceful atmosphere some more. After Fluttershy finished, she was about to join him when she was stopped by a white rabbit who was currently standing between her and the front door.

"Oh, hello Angel. Are you hungry," Fluttershy said, recognizing the rabbit immediately.

Said rabbit continued to stand there with his arms crossed and a look of worry on his tiny face.

"What's the matter?" Fluttershy asked.

Angel pointed out the door towards the traveler, his worried expression increasing.

Fluttershy soon got the gist of the message and said, "Oh, don't worry. I know he looks kind of strange, but he seems really nice."

Angel gave his owner/food dispenser a look that clearly portrayed his skepticism.

"Don't worry, Angel," Fluttershy continued, "I'll be fine. I'll be gone for only a little bit and then I'll come right back. I promise."

Angel didn't seem entirely convinced, but with a sigh he relented and allowed the yellow pegasus to pass.

After Fluttershy left her cottage and closed the door, she looked towards Trevor who gave her another smile.

"Shall we?" Trevor said, indicating the road that lead to Fluttershy's home. With a nod from the pegasus, the two left towards Ponyville.
-------------------------
Khorne was busy contemplating plans for other planets that had caught his interest (which was really just decided which part of the planet was to be destroyed first) when his shape shifting comrade (a loosely used term within the warp) arrived.

"WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?" The blood god demanded.

"Just setting our plans into their first stages." Tzeentch coolly replied in his ever-changing voice.

"THEN THE FALSE GODDESS IS OURS?"

"No. Not yet, anyways. Though she does not hold a candle to us, she is still strong willed for a demigoddess such as her. However, the seed has been placed. All we must do now is see to it that it takes root properly."

"AND HOW DO WE DO THAT?" Khorne inquired.

"We must simply provoke her to take up the proposition that I had introduced to her."

The lord of slaughter gave the Great Deceiver a puzzled look that said, 'Wot does all dem big words mean?'

Tzeentch sighed at his companions short intelligence span before explaining (in simpler terms, mind you), "We need to force the princess to accept the power that I had offered her. Once she does, she's as good as ours."

"PRINCESS, HAH! WHY COULDN'T SHE TAKE ON A MORE INTIMIDATING TITLE LIKE EMPRESS, OR MISTRESS?"

"Please try to refrain from letting you violent mind run off course," Tzeentch mock-pleaded.

"HMPH, WELL I THINK I KNOW A WAY WE CAN FORCE HER."

"You do?" Tzeentch asked in surprise.

"YES, THERE IS A CERTAIN SOUL ON THAT WORLD THAT MAY NOT BE AS WEAK AS I HAD THOUGHT. DEEP WITHIN HER SHE HARBORS FEAR, SADNESS, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY: HATE; HATE FOR ANOTHER SOUL ON THAT PITIFUL WORLD; HATE THAT I CAN MAGNIFY; HATE SO DEEP THAT WHEN I COME TO HER OFFERING POWER, IT WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR HER TO REFUSE."

"Interesting," rasped the Great Deceiver, "once she gains power and followers, her rampage to destroy the one she hates will force the demigoddess to accept my offer in order to stop her."

"EXACTLY!" the lord of slaughter exclaimed proudly.

"I must say, Khorne, I am impressed. You should try using manipulation a lot more often. What does this soul call herself?"

The blood god made a disgusted look as he said, "IT IS A WEAK AND PITIFUL NAME FOR ONE WITH SUCH BLOODY POTENTIALL, WE WILL DEFINETLY HAVE TO CHANGE IT." Khorne's disgusted scowl grew. "SHE CALLS HERSELF… 'TRIXIE'."