It was a cool night and Michael was heading back from a long day in the office. As usual, it was very vigorous and uninteresting as it possibly could be. However, tonight there was a commotion: a very timid voice coming from down one of the alleyways barely distinguishable against the light wind blowing down the street.
Michael was curious, so he took a small detour to see what was happening. A voice like that couldn’t possibly bring him to any harm, could it? He went to investigate.
Down the alley was a group of men. Michael could only see three in the half-light of the alley, and he noticed between them something between them on the floor: a person.
A young woman with baby pink hair, what a funny colour, thought Michael, as he begun to back away from the alley, not wanting to get involved. However, his inner daemons were telling him the opposite. You can’t leave that young girl to those men, and you know what can happen with people like that. Images of the young woman lying dead…
“No, I can’t let that happen. Not when I can stop it.” He said out loud to himself.
He walked into the centre of the alleyway, standing so that he was silhouetting himself against the light of the street making himself look more authoritative than he actually was.
“What are you doing!?” Michael spoke in a rather authoritative and demanding tone that not even he himself was capable of.
The three men took a single glance at the figure standing at the end of the alley. Unsure what to do, all three men scampered out of the opposite end of the alley, only one of who briefly paused before following his comrades out into the night.
Then Michael heard it -- a soft whimpering coming from the young woman upon the ground. He slowly approached her not wanting to pose a similar fear in her that the previous occupants of this space had done.
“Are you alright?” he spoke softly to the figure on the ground.
“Y-yes, than” she spoke through tears in a barely audible voice.
“Well, I’m glad they didn’t do anything too bad to you. May be a little shaken up but you’ll be ok from what I can tell.”
Michael continued to look warily towards the ends of the alley. “Where do you live? You can’t stay out here. They’ll come back.”
A squeak came from the woman as she dived into his arms. Michael was unsure of what he should do.
She was scared. That much was clear. She was weeping onto his shoulder, and being this close he could feel her hair going down his hand. It was soft as silk, and yet the baby pink looked completely natural. Is it possible to have pink hair naturally? he’d ask her later if he saw her again.
His thoughts subsided as he realised the tears had stopped flowing onto his shoulder, and she was looking up at him. “W-where am I? I’m scared!”
Michael could see the fear clearly in her eyes, fearful of everything: where she was, what had happened, even of him?
He spoke softly as he could. “You’re safe and that’s what matters.” He was not sure if that was the truth himself.
The young girl still had the same fear in her eyes but a small smile reached her lips. He said, “Where do you live? I can take you home if I know where it is.”, trying to sound unconfrontational with his words at such an intrusive subject.
In barely a whisper she spoke “P-ponyville.” He was about to laugh in her face thinking she was trying to be humorous, to fight her fear due to the current situation, but her eyes spoke otherwise.
“Oh, I’m afraid I don’t know where that is. Is it some sort of new estate?” he asked, still trying to read her eyes.
“It’s a small town, I-in Equestria” still speaking quietly, but Michael was quickly getting use to the timid and yet very gentle tone of her voice.
Again he had to halt laughter, thinking Equestria? What sort of place is that? Still, she was alone. It was a cold and dark night. He couldn’t just leave her here. Not like this.
“I’m afraid I don’t know where that is” he said, looking at her with what he hoped was concern. “Maybe you could stay with me tonight. Just for tonight though. I don’t want people getting the wrong idea.” He only realised what he was saying as he was saying it.
“Thank you, but I wouldn’t want to impose.” There was such kindness and concern, even when she has nothing left to lose. Surely, this was a good idea.
“You wouldn’t be imposing, trust me…” he said, realising he didn’t even know this girls name and he was asking her to come and stay. “I don’t mean to sound rude but what is your name?”
There was a long pause before the girl answered. “F-fluttershy.”
Finally getting accustomed to these weird answers to seemingly normal questions, he accepted it as the truth and continued. “I’m Michael, Michael Jones.”
“Thank you Mr. Jones.” she said, her timidness seeming to dissolve slightly as she now had a name for the man to which she was speaking.
“Please, I’m not that important, just call me Michael.”
The timid girl was still smiling gently but he could still see a faint tremble on her features.
“Now... Fluttershy was it? Let’s get you out of this cold.” Realising how cold he was beginning to get, himself, he wondered how the girl was coping. She was wearing a small dress, light in colour although it was impossible to tell exactly considering the light in the alley.
“O-okay Michael, but which way is it? If you don’t mind me asking?”
That gentle tone was still way too much to comprehend. Those answers were, too.
Ponyville? Equestria? Fluttershy? How could those be real names of places? They sounded so made up... so unrealistic. And yet, her eyes...
The truth you could see clearly was that she was being one hundred percent honest.
He realised he was zoning out and then answered her question. “It’s this way, just stay close. I don’t want you getting lost.” Gesturing towards one end of the alley, he grasped her hand. She flinched at the sudden touch, as if she had not been touched before.
The walk back to Michael’s apartment was short but it seemed to go on forever. Shadows threatened to jump out at every corner. Fluttershy squealed, and tried to make herself small at each sudden noise, and there was a general eerie silence in all of the dark streets.
They entered the apartment. It was dark inside compared to the light of the streetlamps outside. Michaels closed the door and for a brief moment the pair were in total darkness until there was a click as Michael found the switch. The room flared into life.
Only now did he realise how much of a state his apartment was in. “Please excuse the mess. I don’t normally have visitors.” he apologized, noticing that the girl’s eyes were wide with wonder at the assortment of objects littering the living room.
“This is wonderful, thank you for showing me your home.” There sat a genuine smile on her face with no signs of fear anymore.
“I have a spare bedroom that you can sleep in. It may be a little dusty considering it is seldom used, but you will be comfortable.”
She pulled Michael into a surprisingly strong embrace at this show of what she must’ve thought was generosity. However, what Michael didn’t notice was her thorough examination of her own hands behind his back.
“It’s no problem, Fluttershy.” The name was still confusing to him, but it was growing more comfortable each time he said it. “I couldn’t leave a vulnerable young lady out there for people like that to -- ” He didn’t bother finishing the sentence, as fear started to spark in her eyes again.
“You’re safe now.” He cooed into her ear, and she smiled nervously at that. “Are you hungry Fluttershy?” he asked, looking over at her he realised how thin she was. Does she eat often? Is she anorexic? All these thoughts were going through Michael’s mind while he waited for an answer.
“I don’t want to be rude but I am a little yes. And you can call me Flutter if you want.”
Even after everything she’d been through she is still being so polite, I’ve never met anyone in my life who treats people with such respect, especially a lowly office worker like myself. He walked over to the freezer and had a look inside as the light glowed from within. “What would you like? I have chicken curry, beef lasagne, spaghetti and meat…”
He was suddenly cut off by a noise from the couch. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mention to you before. I don’t eat meat.”
Oh great, now what do I give her? “You’re a vegetarian?”
“If that’s what pon… I mean people who don’t eat meat are called then ... erm... yeah. I do hope it isn’t a problem...”
It is a bit of a problem, nearly all the food I have contains the stuff. “Not really, I think I have something here that doesn’t have meat.” Michael started rummaging through the freezer looking for a meal that would be suitable for his young guest. “Is this okay?” he asked, pulling out a pasta bake.
Fluttershy eyed the small packet warily, wondering how something like that could be food.
“It’s cheese and tomato pasta.” stated Michael assuming she was just unable to see the packet clearly. “I promise this one has no meat.”
“O-okay.”
Michael began busying himself in the kitchen dealing with the food.
Meanwhile Fluttershy was examining herself in a cabinet door. She still had her flowing pink mane. No not mane.... hair. She still had her pink hair and her brilliant turquoise eyes, but her coat was gone. She was completely bare, and it was quite unnerving when she thought about it. These things, her hooves had spindly things sticking out. What were they? She could move them as easily as she could move her hoof. Also where did she get these clothes from, a long yellow dress with three pink and blue butterflies at the bottom of it? She wasn’t wearing clothes when she was back at the library.
The library... something must have happened with Twilight’s spell. I’m sure my friends are doing everything they can to sort this out, she thought. This gave Fluttershy confidence, knowing her friends would come to help her. Her friends would always do that.
