Fluttershy and Alexander

He was playing with some of Fluttershy’s animals while she got their food ready. It was odd, he was more relaxed around critters than he was around other ponies, guess that was just something he had in common with Fluttershy herself. Or maybe most introverts are like this? Hard to say…

Fluttershy came around her house with some of the food and all of the animals rushed to her, making her laugh, “Now now, you’ll all get your turn,” she said, getting ready to serve them.

After taking care of the animals in the immediate area she turned her attention to him. “Thanks for showing up, watching you play with the animals is always a treat,” she said. Seeing him relax was a treat, he almost always had an edge of seriousness to him that he refused to drop, so seeing him open up was a joy. It reminded her of how her friends would cheer her on when she did something new, this must be the same excitement they felt.

“No problem. The animals are rather calming, and if I get to spend some time with their caretaker, well…” he said, smirking a little.

She giggled some at that. “Do you think you can stay today? Maybe cook us some lunch?”

Us? he thought. “Sure, I’d love to make you lunch,” he said. Hopefully it’s AJ, or Rarity, or anypony else than who I’m thinking of.

“Yay! Come on, let’s go inside and get everything set up,” she said, urging him to the door.

Upon entering the house the other guest called out, “Hey Fluttershy, is it almos-oh, it’s you…” Discord said, spotting Alexander with her, which soured his expression.

Any mirth in Alexander’s expression faded almost instantly. Of course it’s- “Discord…” he said, he tried to say some pleasantries after that, some small talk, but struggled to actually do it.

“Now you two, don’t start off on the wrong hoof already, at least try to get along with each other,” she said.

Easier said than done, Alexander thought. Just looking at Discord gave him a headache. His hodgepodge of a body was all wrong. The muscles, bones, and organs didn’t connect together properly; his whole body was a mess that simply shouldn’t work, but there it was, mocking reality with its very existence. And that wasn’t even getting into his personality…

“Oh you worry too much Fluttershy, we’ll be fiiiine, you can go back to… whatever it was you were doing,” Discord said, putting on a big smile for effect.

“Hmm, okay, I still have to feed the rest of the animals. So you can help Alexander get lunch ready and we can all enjoy some time together. Doesn't that sound great?” she said. She wasn’t dumb, she had spent enough time around Discord to know when he was putting on an act, but it didn’t matter. They cared about her enough in their own ways that they would at least tolerate each other for an afternoon.

As she left to finish feeding the animals, Alexander prepared for the eventual annoyance.

“So stuffy pants, what’s for lunch?” Discord said, floating around the stallion.

Well, that took all of two seconds… he thought. “I’m not wearing pants. Now if you’ll excuse me I have to check the kitchen,” he said, doing his best to sidestep Discord and his shenanigans and focus on the task at hoof.

Discord couldn’t stand him, he was just no fun. How could anypony be so dull? Well, he’d have to liven things up then, wouldn’t he? “Come now Alejandro, no need to get defensive. I’m supposed to help you after all,” he said, snickering all the while. “How can I help if you don’t talk to me?”

For his part he showed no outward reaction, but Alexander could already tell this was going to be a miserable experience, “I need to see what she has before I can plan anything…”

“What’s to plan? You can just throw whatever together and cook it right? Or even better!” he said, snapping the claws of his taloned hand and making a bunch of pies, salads, fruits, sandwiches, soups, and hors d'oeuvres pop up all over the kitchen.

Alexander looked over the assorted food he had conjured. “Useless. None of this has any heart or soul,” he said, turning to face the draconequus with a disapproving look before continuing. “If all we wanted to do was fill our stomachs we could make do with nothing but rice and some beans. The point, is to make something we can enjoy together. Can you comprehend such a thing?” That last comment was probably unnecessary, but deeply satisfying.

Discord dismissed the food with another snap. “I understand the sentiment perfectly Alfred…” he said. He cracked his knuckles and claws to get them warmed up, maybe it was time for something a little more… drastic.

“Good,” he said, turning away. “I’m glad you understand, now if you want to actually help cook you can start by turning on the stove while I check what we have to work with.”

“Right…” he said, reluctantly going over to get the stove started, poking at it listlessly while Alexander starting checking the food. With a grin, Discord snapped his claws again and waited for the reaction.

Alexander felt the magical change to his body instantly. His first instinct was to change himself back, an instinct he had to suppress. What now? He needed to pretend to figure out what Discord had done more naturally, which wasn’t going to be hard since he could see that his hooves had changed into something else. He stopped checking food and walked over to a mirror…

He had bunny features. Big floppy ears, a button nose, and his hooves were bunny paws now… He turned to Discord. He wanted to transform and tear the disrespectful noodle in half, but that would accomplish nothing useful. After all, Discord wanted a reaction, so the best thing for him to do was give him nothing. He went back to gathering ingredients.

“Ugh!” Discord said, throwing his hands up. “Come on, that’s no fun! At least say something. How can you be such an incredible buzzkill?”

“Because unlike you I actually have some self-control, you should try it sometime,” he said, his statement dripping with sarcasm.

“Self-control? Please, you’re just boring! I’ll never understand what she sees in you…” he said. It was infuriating, he’d gotten over the idea of Fluttershy having friends besides him, but he just didn’t get it when it came to this one.

“I could say the same about you, you know? You have almost nothing in common with her, but she puts up with you anyway,” he said. It was a low blow, but it was Discord, ultimate impulsive, arrogant, asshole. So who cared?

Discord had had enough of this. He wanted to toss this pest through a portal and be rid of him for good… but Fluttershy would be furious. Maybe he could turn him into a turnip? No, she would still get mad about that. He needed a different tactic. Alfredo over there was just going to power through most of his antics if he could help it… well, there was always the trump card.

Discord floated above Alexander, casting him in shadow. “You ever going to tell her the truth?” he said, he tone contemptuous as possible.

That gave Alexander pause. Is it actually possible for him to know? How? He stopped measuring out the food he found, and without even looking at Discord said, “What are you talking about?”

“Oh don’t play dumb now. I’m not sure what you are, but it’s not an earth pony, that’s for sure.”

Now Alexander turned to glare at him. “What’s it matter to you?” he said. He was mulling over what he should do in this situation. At this range he could probably tackle him and rewrite his brain before he could react, make the whole problem disappear… but that wasn’t something he wanted to do to anypony, even Discord.

“Is that your idea of a joke? She’s my friend, I’m not just going to let you hide something like this from her,” he said.

“Is that a fact? Well if you have known this whole time then why haven’t you told her already?” he said.

“Hmph, I didn’t want to ruin her fun without reason. She… enjoys your company, I don’t get why. But last time I tried to toss one of her new friends it didn’t go so well,” he said. He crossed his arms and stared Alexander in the eyes. “But this is different! You act like you care about her, well prove it then. You should have no problem being honest with her. If not, then get lost.” Waving his hand in a big sweeping motion to emphasize his final words, the front door slamming open at his command.

Alexander didn’t know what was more distressing, that Discord knew something about his secret, or that he actually had a point… What am I supposed to do here? What could he do? Most of his options in this kind of situation were less than pleasant, but he had to do something now. There was one thing he could do, it was obvious, but also extremely risky.

Alexander stared without moving, long enough for Discord to start getting anxious.

“Fine,” Alexander said, changing his body back to it's proper form with a thought.

That caught Discord off guard. “How did you-? And what do you mean fine?” he said. Is he actually going to leave? It can’t be this easy… wait, is he going to tell her? Really?

“It means I have come to a decision. Now I have to go carry it out. Good luck with the cooking” he said, leaving the kitchen and a confused draconequus with it.

As he exited the house he found Fluttershy finishing up the feeding. She turned and spotted him approaching. “Hey, is everything okay? Are you getting along well?” she said.

“When do we ever get along? Nevermind that, we have to talk,” he said.

“Huh? Is it that bad?” she said. Did they get into a fight or something? I didn’t hear them fighting…

“Let’s find a seat somewhere…” he said, walking off behind the house to find a more secluded spot.

Fluttershy followed, confused and getting worried, she had never seen him this serious before.

They sat down away from her home, closer to the forest, and Alexander stared out into nothing, trying to collect his thoughts. How am I even supposed to say this? ‘Hey, I’m a flesh monster wearing pony skin?’ Yeah, that will go over well. This wasn't just about losing Fluttershy, which would be horrible enough on it’s own. If she told her friends, if this got back to the sisters, then that was it. He was sure that he’d spend the rest of his time in Equestria fighting for his life, and likely dying doing it.

She looked at him, and even with his blank expression she could see he was deeply troubled by something. “Alexander, what is it? Is everything okay?” she said.

“...I just, have to tell you something, that’s all,” he said, going back to sitting in silence.

“Well, whatever it is, I’m sure it’s not as bad as you think it is. So don’t worry, I’m here for you,” she said, giving him a warm smile.

Alexander looked at her, she was so kind and concerned, it almost made him think that it would be all right. That telling her wouldn’t be as disastrous as he thought. He still wanted to say it in a way that wouldn’t scare her though. Hmm, this might work.

“I never told you what my talent was, did I?” he said, looking down at his own mark, a white snake eating its own tail on a black background. Not exactly a normal mark, but most didn’t pay as much attention to them as you would think.

“Huh? You told me it helps you with being a doctor,” she said. What did his mark have to do with this?

“Yes, it does help. But that’s not what it is, now is it?” he said, lifting up his right forehoof, the one closest to her. “Watch.”

She looked at the hoof.

With a thought, the hoof split apart, the bone cracking and muscle twisting as the limb reformed. She gasped, and in that breath it was done. In place of his hoof, Alexander now had a griffin's talons.

He moved the claws about, getting the feel of them, making sure they were constructed right. She kept staring, slowly moving her eyes from the talons to his face.

“How?” she said.

“This is my talent, I can ‘shape’ organic matter, including my own. In fact, shaping my own body is easier,” he said.

It was a lot to take in so quickly, but also fascinating. She had seen changelings and other magic transformations, but she never expected a cutie mark could let you do something like this. ”If changing your body is ‘easier,’ easier than what?” she said. She wanted to know more, to really understand what he was trying to tell her. How much could he do?

He looked at her, and held out his talon. “Do you trust me?” he said, hoping beyond hope that he hadn't scared her.

She looked at him, and then down at the offered talon… yes, she still trusted him, and offered one of her forehooves. She wanted to see what would happen.

As she placed her hoof in his talon he gripped it lightly, and then moved the talon up, caressing her leg with the claws… and changing the color of her coat as he went.

Done, he released her foreleg and she looked at what he did. Her coat was a pleasant light green where he had touched her, and she had felt a tingling across her skin while he did it.

“This is amazing! Why were you so worried about telling me this?” she said. So he could change things that he touched? What was so bad about that? No wonder it helped him as a doctor.

He was glad she was taking it well, could have just left it at that, but he wanted her to fully understand what this meant. No more hiding it. “...I don’t think you realize how badly this could be abused, what horrible things could be done with it. I’m pretty sure… that this power is not supposed to exist,” he said.

“Abused? Alexander, I don’t think you would ever abuse this, so how bad could it really be?” she said. Was this why he was so worried? Did he think others would shun him because of his talent?

“Give me your hoof again,” he said. He needed to show her it seemed… he was not looking forward to the reaction.

“Okay,” she said, giving him her hoof once more. He held it firmly for a moment and looked her in the eye… then he pulled it off.

There was no pain, no bleeding, but Alexander was holding her detached hoof. She looked at her… stump. It was sealed over with a thin layer of new skin, right at the wrist joint where the hoof would attach. She started breathing heavily, and had to do her best to remain calm. She looked back to him for answers.

“Anything living, is like clay to me…” he said, rolling her hoof around in his talon. “Skin, muscles, bones, organs, I can change it all. I just need physical contact, that’s it.”

She was stunned, her brain finally realizing what he could do, or even what he could have already done to anypony he ever came in contact with. “O-okay, but you would never do anything bad with this right? Alexander, tell me that you have never done anything bad with this,” she said.

“No, of course not. But do you think that matters? If ponies knew what I could do to them, do you think they would let me be a doctor? Do you think they would even let me exist?” he said, reattaching her hoof and changing her coat color back.

She felt her hoof. There was nothing wrong with it that she could see or feel. It was like it had never happened. “I… don’t know what others would think, but I’m not afraid, just, surprised. That’s all,” she said. It made a little more sense now why he would be so reluctant to tell anypony, but she had gotten used to crazy things. So this was just one more thing to get used to.

“Thanks for that, but there is still a lot to explain. It’s going to take a while,” he said. He couldn’t believe it; he had never imagined that she would take this so well. He could feel a weight lift from him. He could finally relax a little. Because she wasn’t afraid of him, she was so strong for somepony so shy.

Fluttershy’s stomach growled. “Heh heh, could it wait till after lunch?” she said.

Alexander raised an eyebrow at that. Really? That’s a concern after what just happened?

“I know this is important to you, and I’m happy you were willing to tell me, but there’s no rush. Let’s enjoy the rest of our day and discuss this later, okay?” she said. It wasn’t just that she was hungry. She wanted time to mull over what she already learned.

“...OK,” he said.

They got up and started walking back to the house. “So what did you end up cooking?” she said.

“I didn’t. You’ll have to ask Discord,” he said, causing Fluttershy to do a double-take.

They entered the house, and were immediately assaulted by a burning smell. Reaching the kitchen they found the source… Discord was at the center of an absolute mess. There were food stains everywhere. The floor, the walls and cabinets, there was even something stuck to the ceiling… was that? A pizza? Where’d he get a pizza? Why’d he get a pizza? And the stove, was he cooking on it or trying to burn garbage on it? The only thing that was recognizable among the things on the stove was a rumbling pot.

“Oh good you’re back.” I guess he told her, so much for getting rid of him. “This was a lot more complicated than expected, how do you ponies do this on a daily basis?” Discord said, completely nonchalant about the state of his surroundings.

Fluttershy was slack-jawed at the mess, and Alexander was amused. “So what’s for lunch, Discord?” he said, doing his best not to laugh openly.

“Umm…” Discord pulled the pot he had off of the stove, revealing it was filled with… something. “Soup?”

“Ha ha ha, no. Now come on, we have to clean this up and make a real meal,” Alexander said, moving to do just that.

“Oh well, I tried,” he said, poofing the pot and the mess out of existence without a care.

Fluttershy recovered enough to join the conversation. “Right, well let’s leave Alexander to cook.” And get you away from my kitchen. She led Discord out of the kitchen.

“Good idea! You can handle that right?” he said back at Alexander.

Better than you did, Alexander thought. “Sure. No problem,” he said.

As they left the room completely Alexander got to work. Well, I guess she’s still with me… can’t say I expected that, or that I’d ever be able to tell her for that matter, and I still have so much to tell her. But maybe, this can actually work out? he thought. Yeah, we can make this work…