But, She's a Pony!

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 6

Chapter 1

Uke-Joe

“No, there's been no mistake--she is your roommate.”

“But, she's a pony! She's a mare pony!”

“So?”

“So it's-” you sighed. You had been arguing in your head ever since you found out your new roommate was going to be a pony, a mare pony at that. It wasn't like your roommate was actually a woman, but still, wildly inappropriate no less. Plus, you had always been a little unsure about the talking ponies. It wasn't like they meant any harm, but you had no idea how to act around them. And then there was the fact they didn't eat meat or play video games or do anything you liked. You sighed. “Fine, whatever.”

Accepting defeat, you made your way back to your room. It wasn't worth trying to switch rooms. You had been in that room since last year, and even a pony couldn't make you move out of it. Last year's roommate, Mark, had disappeared over the summer, not that you had much of a summer, taking classes for all but two weeks of it. Mark was by no means the best roommate ever, but anyone that pitched in money for your favorite deep dish sausage pizza was good enough for you. Plus he was a pretty funny guy.

Not that it mattered now anyways. You reached your room where you had fled when the pony outside introduced herself as your roommate. You were half willing just to man up and take out a bigger loan or find a job and pay all the rent after you found out that Mark had left. You sighed again and entered you room.

Inside, sure enough, was a pony. A pegasus, actually, not that it mattered. Well, it did a little bit. Unicorns scared you. If they ever turned violent there was no stopping that magic of theirs, you were sure of it. Laws had been passed ever since the last year when the gateway between your two worlds had been discovered, requiring a police force of unicorns, just in case, but what if they turned violent too? Shaking your head and turning off your conspiracy theorist side of your brain, you walked over to introduce yourself to the pony.

“Hey, I'm Andrew, but seriously don't call me that. Everyone just calls me Drew.” You extended your knuckles, remembering hearing somewhere that ponies introduced themselves with a fist bump, not a handshake.

“Oh, um, Hi. I'm Flu-” Her voice became inaudible as she tried disappearing behind her hair. Or mane. Whatever they wanted to call it.

“Didn't quite catch that.” You smiled at her, pretending to be friendly. First impressions and all that.

“Fluttershy,” she finished, just loud enough so that you could hear her. These dang pony names. At least they told you a bit about themselves. Now you knew she was probably very shy, as if you didn't realize that already.

“Well it's nice to meet you Fluttershy. Like I said, just call me Drew.”

“It's, um... nice to meet you, D-Drew.”

“It's nice to meet you too.” You lied. It might have been nice to meet you if you weren't a pony. “If you need anything I'm just over there” you point to your room. The rooms were clearly designed to hold two people per room, but you and Mark hadn't minded paying extra for a little privacy. You assumed Fluttershy wanted the extra space too, must be a pony thing.

You left her and jumped into your chair by your computer, flipping it open. You logged onto Facebook and left a status:

Andrew Smith: Found out my roommate is a pony. Might post a picture later. Idk.

Probably not, but you tended to keep your friends informed, posting what some might consider too many statuses a day. You cruised down to see what everyone had been up to that day. Nothing interesting. You clicked on the notification that had just appeared.

Andrew Smith: Found out my roommate is a pony. Might post a picture later. Idk.

Mark Willis: Dude, you need to do that! That's awesome! Probably almost as cool as me right :P? What's his name?

You grinned. You had completely forgot you had Mark added on Facebook, considering he had been reluctant to get one at first anyways. You left a comment in reply.

Andrew Smith: Her name, Fluttershy. And where did you run off to anyways? I was worried I was going to have to pay for this entire place by myself!

You posted it and waited for the next comment. It came painfully slow. A full 90 seconds later you clicked on the notification.

Mark Willis: Dude, are female ponies and dudes supposed to have rooms together? I guess since you are, but still. And about that, hit me up on chat.

You obliged and clicked on his name on the chat bar.

Andrew Smith: Dude! I forgot I had you added on facebook!

Mark Willis: Yeah man. So really? Your roommate is a pony?

Andrew Smith: A pegasus.

Mark Willis: What's she like?

Andrew Smith: Yellow, Pink hair.

Mark Willis: I think it's a mane.

Andrew Smith: Okay fine, pink mane. She's really shy if you couldn't tell from her name.

Mark Willis: LOL! No really?

Andrew Smith: Haha yeah. So anyways where'd ya run off to man?

Mark Willis: Believe it or not, I transferred to a school in Equestria, haha.

Andrew Smith: WHAT? Ponyland? Really man? What about stuff like... Meat? You love meat!

Mark Willis: Yeah, there's actually quite a few human restaurants around here. In the city at least.

You heard a knocking on your door interrupting you from your conversation. You typed Mark a quick be right back and yelled, “It's unlocked!” You heard someone fumbling with the doorknob. Turning to face the door, the slick, round doorknob was clearly a problem for whoever was at the door.

You walked over and opened the door, dragging Fluttershy, who was connected by the teeth to your doorknob, along with the door...

Making a mental note to wash that later, you asked her what was up.

“Um, I was wondering if you w-would help me use my laptop, if it's not too much to ask...” she asked, her eyes never leaving the ground.

“Sure,” you respond. You wondered what the point of having a computer was if you couldn't use it, but decided not to question her. You followed her into her room, where a nice Macbook was opened on her desk. You leaned over the desk as she sat down on a chair. You didn't use a Macbook, but heard they were a lot simpler than other computers. She tried using the touchpad with a hoof.

“Ok, that won't work because it needs to be touching skin or something like that to move the cursor,” you said. “I would recommend getting a mouse to plug into your computer."

“Oh, sorry. I think the man in the store told me to buy this.” She picked up a stylus that looked like it could be attached around her hoof. Sure enough, she strapped it on and placed in against the touchpad, moving the cursor.

“Oh, alright. Anything else?”

She opened Firefox and waited for her home page to load. “I don't know why, but this isn't working.”

“Oh, that's easy, you're probably not connected to the internet." You walk around her and crouch down to the laptop. "If you don't mind?” You reached over and selected the right Wi-Fi to connect to, typed in the password, and refreshed the page. It now loaded almost instantly.

“Oh, thank you so much.” She actually smiled.

“No problem,” you said. You began to walk out the door until curiosity got the better of you. “Hey, you don't have a Facebook do you?”

Her confused look answered your question. Since she was probably going to need a Facebook at some point if she wanted to get to know anyone, you turned around and typed in the address. A few minutes and a couple of explanations later, one of which being why she would need a Facebook, you had managed to help her set an account up. You even used her webcam to get a picture of her for her profile picture, which flashed before you were able to get out of it, but she was unwilling to take another, probably photo shy. You knelt down so you could get better access to her keyboard.

“Anyone you know that might have a Facebook?” You asked, clicking the search bar.

“Try, um. T-Twilight Sparkle,” she said.

Not commenting on the name, probably a pony that made sparkles or really likes twilight. You typed in the name and came up with one result, from Ponyville, Equestria. You clicked on her profile.

“Yes! That's her!” Fluttershy said. You clicked the add friend button. “How do I talk to her?”

“Well, I just added her for you, but it may-” you were cut off by a notification. Twilight Sparkle had accepted Fluttershy's friend request and sent her a message. Fluttershy made a high pitched noise and rushed to her keyboard slowly typing a message back. You walked back to your room and back to your conversation.

Andrew Smith: Sorry bout that, was helping the roommate make a facebook. It's weird seeing a pony on a computer.

Mark Willis: You get used to it. Anyways what's her name again? Fluttershy?

Andrew Smith: Yeah, I put her facebook name as Fluttershy Fluttershy though, since you need a last name.

Mark Willis: Are you going to add her?

You thought about it. Friending someone on Facebook wasn't exactly being friends with someone. You had plenty of Facebook 'friends' that you didn't like at all. Fluttershy was new to Facebook though, so she might misinterpret it.

Andrew Smith: I guess. I need to share her profile picture anyways, don't I?

You searched her name and clicked the add friend button. A few moments later a notification appeared that she had accepted your request. You clicked on her profile picture and shared it to your wall, adding the note, “My new roommate and me.” Mark messaged you.

Mark Willis: Hey! I've seen that pony before! She used to be a model or something.

You laughed out loud. The idea of her being a model was just too funny. She had refused to even take another picture on her own computer.

Andrew Smith: Yeah I bet man. She's way too shy to ever be a model.

Mark Willis: Idk man. Maybe that's why she quit and is going to Abbotsville University with you. All I know is I can't walk into a store without seeing her face on one of their products.

Andrew Smith: Alright Man, I'll ask her about it later. I feel like napping for now.

Mark Willis: Napping?? Isn't it like, 2 over there?

Andrew Smith: Yup! Perfect time for a nap! Besides you know how it is, I stayed up late playing games :P.

Mark Willis: Lol. Alright peace man.

Andrew Smith: Peace.

You didn't really feel extraordinarily tired, but there was nothing to do. You shut your laptop and flopped onto your bed and shut your eyes.

Chapter 2

Uke-Joe

You wake up. You smack your lips and taste that awful taste you get right after you sleep. You get up to go brush your teeth, and see Fluttershy looking for something in the fridge.

“If, uhm, if you don't mind me asking, what is this?” She holds up a package of hotdogs. You finish quickly brushing your teeth and take the last one out of the bag. “Hot dogs, why?” You toss it in the microwave and press 30 seconds.

“Oh, I was just wondering what it was made of. You don't have much fruit, or vegetables.” she mumbles, “N-Not that that's a problem!” she quickly adds.

You chuckle. “To be honest, I don't really know what hot dogs are made up of either. Probably pork and beef, not anything you'd like, I bet.” Your stomach rumbles. “I'm pretty sure there's some cheese pizza in the back of the fridge somewhere. That won't have any meat.”

She leans into the fridge and you can hear some jars of things being pushed around. She appears with a bag of what looks like pizza. She puts it on the small table next to you; you quickly revise your earlier thought that it looked like pizza. It looks more like a pizza shaped mold.

“Ugh. Yeah... You don't want to eat that. There's a store not too far from here where you can buy... uh...” You had no idea what ponies ate. Carrots or something, maybe? “Food.”

She seems to cringe at the thought of going out shopping, but her stomach grumbles, “Oh, no. It's quite alright.”

You look at her as you pull your hotdog out of the microwave. “I can hear your stomach from over here. I'm not paying more for rent just because you die cause you refuse to eat.” You eat half of the hotdog in one bite, “Come on, We can go grab some pizza too.”

You finish your hotdog and look back at her. She still seems unwilling to go, “I only arrived here today, the rest of my money still is in bits.” She frowns, rather concerned. You had seen bits before, and apparently they were worth their weight in gold, since they were gold.

“Do you have one on you?” you ask.

“Um, yes?”

“Good, let's go.”

You walk out the door and hold it open for her. She seems like she's about to protest, but caves in and follows you. You walk down the stairs and arrive outside. It's a pleasant summer day, and although Fall has almost started, it still feels as hot as it has been all summer. You guide her down the street and to a nearby Pizza Hut. It's not your first choice, but it's what's closest, so you enter it and get in line.

The line is moving slowly, and you can feel the eyes of customers on you, or rather, Fluttershy. It isn't like they haven't probably seen an Equestrian pony before, but it isn't exactly an everyday thing either. You feel a tap on your midsection. Looking down, Fluttershy is poking you with her muzzle, trying to get you attention. You're an average height guy at 5'10, but her shoulders don't even come up past your waist, and her head is probably just barely past your belly button. You ask her what's up.

“What's okay to eat for ponies?” she asks quietly, glancing around the store, nervous of all the stares she was receiving. You take this to mean no meat.

“Cheese pizza. Or if you want you could get peppers or black olives on it instead, I think.”

She seems to like the idea, but has another question, “Oh. And Are... Are you sure they'll accept bits?”

“Uh, actually probably not.” You realize that although bits were worth a lot, no one would ever go and pay for a meal with gold in a Pizza Hut. She starts to look worried, “It's okay though, I'll order. you can pay me back once you get your bits exchanged.” She smiles a thank you and you order one cheese pizza with olives and peppers and one sausage pizza.

You pay and take two cups for sodas. You hand her a cup and fill yours with Coke. You put your cup down at the table and notice her struggling with the machine, attempting to press the button with a wing while holding the cup with two hooves. You quickly step over there and fill it with what she was attempting to press; lemonade.

You still probably have a while to wait before your pizzas are done, so you attempt to start up a conversation.

“I never really asked you, but what will you be studying this next year?”

“Oh, I really would like to be a veterinarian.” she answered. It didn't exactly answer your question, but you could work with that.

“A vet? So you like animals then?”

She perked up at this. “Oh yes! I just love them! I love all animals, from the smallest little chipmunk, to the largest bear. Except for d-dragons. Dragons are scary, and mean.” She seems to quail at the thought

Your eyes widened. “Whoa now, a dragon? There are dragons in Equestria?”

"Um, well, I've only ever seen one, actually, but it was big, and really scary.”

She did seem terrified of dragons, but you couldn't not press the subject now. “You actually saw a dragon! I don't believe it.”

“Oh, well. My friends kind of made me go see it-” She started off into the story. The pizza arrived while she was telling you about their trip up the mountain to go see it. She enjoyed the pizza though, something you couldn't believe they didn't have in Equestria. She finished up the story as you walked out of the Pizza Hut.

“So, you really just walked up to a dragon, and told it to leave?” you asked, hardly believing the whole tale. Then again, Fluttershy didn't really seem like the type to lie just to entertain someone with a story.

“I know, I'm such a mean pony. But the smoke could have hurt my little animals!” she added, almost apologetic about the whole thing.

“I don't believe it, this is becoming my Facebook status.” You pulled out your phone and spoke out loud as you typed, “My... new... roommate... once... made... a... dragon... leave... its... cave. Bad... ass.” You post it, and almost immediately it got a comment.

“Bad what?” Fluttershy asked, while I read the comment from Mark:

Andrew Smith: My new roommate once made a dragon leave its cave. Bad ass.

Mark Willis: *Flank. Bad flank :P.

“Oh, uh, bad flank.” you corrected. She blushed and hid her face behind her mane, which made you laugh a little. You walked in silence until you reached the local grocery store, where Fluttershy wandered off to go fetch some edibles. You pulled out your phone. The picture you shared had received quite a few likes and comments from your friends. Fluttershy returned with what looked like a bunch of salad fixings and some frozen cheese pizzas.

“I hope you don't mind buying me all of this." She pushed the cart with her forehooves while standing on her hind legs, flapping her wings a bit for balance. “I mean, I know I know I'll pay you back but-”

“It's alright. I mean, if you fought off a dragon, just imagine what you could do to me!” You laughed as she pushed the cart towards the checkout, you thought she looked a little funny, pushing the cart like that, but didn't say anything. She chose a self-checkout, which was fine by you, since that was what you normally did anyways. You helped her check out her food and bagged it before paying and leaving the store.

It had begun creeping towards night, and the sun was almost completely gone, leaving the clouds with a nice, orange tinge. You carried your double armful of bags all the way back your apartment before realizing Fluttershy wasn't next to you. She really was quiet. You sighed and headed back outside.

It was hard to miss the yellow pegasus hunched over by a bush. You walked up to her, “Hey, it's gonna be night soon-” You stopped when you saw what she was holding. “Fluttershy! Put that squirrel down!” you said, and looked around to see if anyone was nearby. Fortunately no one was, so you bent down and pushed the squirrel away with your foot, “Shoo! Get out of here!”

“Stop it! He just wants a little bit of food for his squirrel family” She looked up with the biggest puppy dog eyes you had ever seen, even bigger than the eyes of a normal equestrian pony. You sighed, “Sorry Fluttershy, but you can't feed all the food you buy to random animals, they'll just keep coming back for more, and you'll go broke. Besides, they might have diseases and we can't have animals in the apartment anyways.”

She looked saddened at this, so you let her feed the rest of the piece of bread she had to the squirrel before leading her back to the apartment. She sniffled once or twice on the way back, and you legitimately felt sorry for her. As soon as you opened the door she scampered off to her room and shut the door behind her. You cleared out all your old food from the fridge and placed all her groceries in the fridge or freezer. You then walked into your room and shut the door behind you.

Just that morning you wouldn't have minded at all if she had decided to suddenly switch rooms and gone somewhere else. You were still a little irritated that that you had not only a pony but a mare pony as your roommate, someone you couldn't relate to at all. She wasn't even studying anything similar to you. Nonetheless, Fluttershy seemed alright. She was talking to you, even if it took a little encouragement from you. Maybe living with a pony wouldn't be awful. You had your privacy still, and didn't need to talk to her if you didn't want to.

“That's right! I have my privacy! She can't even open my door," you think to yourself. You jump over to your laptop, flip it open, and lay down on your bed.

***

You wake up earlier than you would most days, at around seven. You weren't exactly a morning person, but had been scheduling your classes so that you would have the afternoons to relax. Since you only had that weekend before school started, you decided to make the most of it, which of course meant playing as many video games as you felt like. You turn on your computer and grabbed the power cord, flipping your beanbag chair out into the hall between yours and Fluttershy's rooms. You grabbed some pretzels and decided to quickly check Facebook. Your computer quickly loaded the page. You loved everything about the computer, and had paid a good deal of money for it. Or maybe your dead grandmother you never knew paid for it with the money she left you, but that would mean she was also paying for most of your food, and most of your room for most of the past year. You would probably have to slow down your spending if you wanted that money to last, but the room was still worth it. You sighed as you checked your notifications.

Most people had finished commenting on the fact that your roommate was a pony. Your uncle thought you were a freak for sharing an apartment with a pony, but hey, you never saw him anyways. The only thing that really bothered you were a few of your friends that jokingly accused you of bestiality. You knew that they were just messing with you, but it still told you that the thought even went through their minds. This drew an argument from people that supported that kind of thing with equestrian ponies, which led to an 86 comment long war on your post. You sighed, not wanting anyone to even think something like that might be happening with you and your new roommate, and deleted the post.

You had just opened Steam and began to load Left 4 Dead 2 when your door knob to your apartment started jiggling. About a minute later, the jiggling stopped and you heard a knock from outside. Jumping up to open the door, you were not surprised to see Fluttershy standing outside. You swung the door open and stood aside.

“Thank you,” she said.

“No problem, hang on a second, I have an idea about the door.” You grabbed some duct tape from a drawer and affixed a little hoof shaped piece of tape to each side of the doorknobs. She slid a hoof in and tested it. You were pleased to see it worked. Happy with your craftsmanship, you attached the tape to the doorknobs on the bathroom, her room, and hesitated before putting them on your room. Then again, what if you had an accident or something, and you needed her to save you? You would use that as justification if anyone asked.

“What's up, Fluts?” you said. She looked at you quizzically, “Shy? Flutters? Throw me a bone here!”

“Um, I don't have a bone... I can get one, if you like?” You face-palmed.

“That's not what I meant, Fluttershy. Still, you've got to have a nickname or something don't you?”

“I... I don't know. I mean, if you really want to.”

“It's alright I guess. So where've you been?”

“Oh! I have money to repay you.” She pulls out some bills from what looks like two bags connected across her back. “Ish thish enough?” she says between a mouthful of bills.

You pull a 20 from her mouth, “That should cover what wasn't my food. Thanks, Flutters.” You've secretly decided that Flutters is the most appropriate nickname for her. She doesn't seem to mind, and starts fixing herself a salad.

“If you don't mind me asking, what were you planning on doing today? I mean, I wouldn't want to intrude if you have plans, or, if you're seeing anypony, erm, anybody.”

“It's fine, I don't really have anything to do anyways. Whataya need?”

“Oh, well then, since you're not doing anything, would you mind showing me around the area? I mean, if you want to. I just haven't been able to see the campus or anything yet.”

You agree, a bit grudgingly; It's not like Left 4 Dead 2 was going anywhere anyways, and maybe you would run into someone you knew. You head out the door and down the stairs.

“So Flutters, I haven't seen you use those wings of yours at all,” you say.

“I'm, um, not really the best flier. I mostly stay on the ground. I only fly when I really need to.”

You frown. If you had wings, they'd be the most used thing ever! “Please? I'm showing you around town.”

“I-I guess... if you want me to.” She flapped her wings and jumped a few feet off the ground, flying alongside you. “This is pretty much the limit of my flying.”

It may not have been fast, but it was still pretty cool. “I wish I had wings. That looks so cool.” Predictably, she blushed and hid her face behind her mane. You were watching her fly when one of her larger feathers suddenly popped loose. Fortunately, your cat-like reflexes allowed you to catch it in midair.

“Hey Flutters, do you want this?” You held out the feather.

“Eep!” She grabbed her feather, “Thank you! I must have forgot to check my feathers yesterday, or I would have taken care of that then.”

“What, is there a feather fairy or something?” you ask. She gives you a confused look, “You know, like the tooth fairy? You lose a tooth and then leave in under a pillow at night and the tooth fairy puts money under your pillow?”

“I've... never heard of that,” she says, a bit bemused. She lands back on the ground.

You guided her around the town, past the mall, the movie theater, everything that was within walking distance, and she entertained you with stories of her friend Rainbow Dash. The Sonic Rainboom especially interested you.

“That's pretty cool. A sonic Rainboom I mean. I wish I could see it.”

“Maybe she'll come visit sometime. I added her to my Facebook yesterday.”

“Really? Maybe I'll see if she'll add me.”

When you both arrived at the campus you walked around to the different buildings there. There wasn't much to it, really, which was one of the reasons why you didn't spend much time there. That and even your small apartment was larger than any dorm your college could offer.

“And that's about it!” you concluded the tour. “Now come on, I'll give you a tour of my favorite McDonald's.” It was about lunchtime anyways, so you ordered a 4 dollar menu burgers and a sweet tea. Fluttershy just got the salad and a drink, but was clear to leave out any meat at all from it, “If that's not too big a problem, I mean,” she added to the cashier. She paid for her meal and you offered to get her her drink. She happily allowed you to do so and found a table. You returned her an iced tea and broke into your burgers, easily finishing the first burger within ten seconds.

“You don't mind people eating meat around you, do you?”

“Oh, not really,” she answered, “I just don't think about it. It's not from any creature I ever knew.”

That answered your question, and you resumed eating your burgers. She attempted to pick at her salad with a fork, but eventually gave in and just leaned over and grabbed part of the salad with her teeth. She looked completely ridiculous, but probably not as ridiculous as she would have looked using a fork. Besides, who were you to judge. A few years ago and anyone spending this much time talking to a pony would have been recommended to a psychiatrist.

You were happy to return to the apartment with plenty of time left in the day. You grabbed your laptop and beanbag and carried them into your room, firing up your laptop again and decided that today felt like a Minecraft day. You noticed that Mark was on Skype and called him up as you entered your own world.

“YO!” you said, your typically friendly greeting to Mark.

“Hey man! What's going on?”

“Nothing man, just finished giving the grand tour of the not so grand Abbotsville to Fluttershy. She's actually pretty alright. Not saying we're best buds or anything, but she's normal enough for a pony. Not that I know any other ponies. She did tell me about her friend Rainbow Dash though.”

You paused your game to click back over to the Skype call, just in time to see his eyes widen, “Dude, you know like two famous ponies now? Rainbow Dash is the newest member of the Wonderbolts. Literally just happened today.”

“The who?” you ask.

“The Wonderbolts, man!”He held up a newspaper that showed a team of pegasi in flight suits handing a similar suit to another exited pegasus mare. “They're the best fliers in all of Equestria. Pretty much the only sport anyone here cares about is racing and flight competitions. Imagine a team of trick fliers, but now imagine them as really fast pegasi. See what I'm getting at?”

You laughed, “Sure man, sure. Hey you wanna meet Fluttershy? You can show her that newspaper.”

“Eh, why not? I've always wanted to meet a model. Has it hit you that you're living with a model?” He stuck a tongue out.

“Don't think like that, man. It's not cool. Now wait there and I'll get Fluttershy.”

You walk out of your room and knock on Fluttershy's door. She invites you in.

“Hey Flutters, come meet my friend on Skype. He has some news for you.”

“Oh, okay. What's Skype?”

“It's a way to talk to people over the internet. With a video of them and everything. It's cool, I'll set it up for you later. Come on, let's go!” You grab her hoof and drag her away to your laptop.

“Flutters, this is Mark, my old roommate. He transferred to a school somewhere in Equestria. Mark, show her that newspaper.”

Mark waves and holds up a newspaper to his camera.

“Is that... Rainbow Dash?!” Fluttershy squealed. “Oh, I wish I could congratulate her! Oh, and it's, um, nice to meet you, Mark.”

“It's a pleasure meeting a model, Fluttershy.” Mark grinned.

“Oh, you heard about that?” Fluttershy blushed.

“What? I don't believe it!” you cry.

“I told you it was true!” exclaimed Mark.

“I didn't enjoy it very much though.” Fluttershy said quietly.

“Well gotta go, Drew, see you later man.”

“Alright, hit me up on Facebook though.”

“Sure thing man. Later, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy smiled as Mark hung up the call. “He seems... nice.”

You laugh. “Everyone liked Mark. Apparently he decided Canterlot University was the place for him though.”

Fluttershy trotted out and back to her room. A few minutes of minecrafting passed before you heard her voice again.

“Um, Drew? I was wondering if you would help me talk to Rainbow Dash like you did with Mark? That is, if you don't mind, I mean.”

“Sure, gimme a sec.” You put your laptop to the side and nearly tripped over your power cord before reaching the door and heading into Fluttershy's room. You quickly pull up the Skype homepage and begin the download.

“It says it's gonna take about, 31 minutes to finish installing it. Does Rainbow Dash even have a Skype account?”

“Yes, she messaged me her name for it on Facebook.”

You go over to your room and grab your laptop, bringing it to Fluttershy's room. “Here, type her username for Skype here while Skype downloads on your computer. You can talk to her there for now.” You place the computer in front of where Fluttershy was sitting on the floor.

Fluttershy smiled and attached her computer touchpad using device, which as it turned out doubled as finger to type with. Although painfully slow for you to watch, soon enough Fluttershy had successfully added Rainbow Dash as a contact to your Skype. You help her click the call button and turn on your webcam to start the call. An image of a cyan pegasus with a rainbow striped mane appears when Rainbow connects to the call.

“Rainbow! I'm so very happy for you! Congratulations!” cried Fluttershy.

A video of her friend appeared on the screen as Rainbow Dash turned her webcam on. Fluttershy smiled at the sight of her friend, who was clad in the blue suit with a bolt on the side of it, the same one you saw in the newspaper Mark showed you.

“It was a piece of cake! Nothing to it!” Rainbow boasted, “I had the whole thing wrapped up before the tryouts even ended. Besides we all saw this day coming right? Now how about you, Fluttershy! Having fun in people land or wherever?”

“Oh, yes! I arrived just a few days ago and I'm settled into my apartment now. It has plenty of room, like you suggested.”

“Great! How's your roommate? Is it weird living with a, what's-it-called... woman?”

Fluttershy giggled, “A human if you're being non-gender specific. But a man in this case. He's really interested in your stunts, especially the sonic Rainboom.”

“I already have fans in Human land? Man, we may need to do a tour there! Is he there?”

You get up from Fluttershy's desk and sit down by Fluttershy. “Hey Rainbow, I'm Drew.”

“What's up Drew? You seem like an alright guy to me. Just don't let anything happen to Fluttershy or I'll whip your fl-”

“Rainbow! Drew is really nice. He showed around town today and helped me use my computer,” Fluttershy said.

“Haha, relax Drew I'm just playing with ya. You know, maybe if we do tour in people land I'll bring the girls with me-” Rainbow and Fluttershy chatted on about different subjects, but for the most part you tuned it out and went to your room, trying to organize the books you would be needing for the upcoming week.

You checked back in with Fluttershy once Skype had loaded on her computer and you set her up with an account. Surprisingly enough, the username Fluttershy was taken, so she used the nickname you had given to her, Flutters, instead. You showed her how to call Rainbow and reclaimed back your computer.

Fluttershy and Rainbow were still chatting when you exited your room late for dinner. After eating 30 pizza rolls on the couch, the one piece of furniture in what divided the hallway (with the doors to your room, Fluttershy's room, and outside your apartment) and the area with the fridge, a small table, and a microwave, (what you generously called the kitchen) you laid back on your hands and closed your eyes. You may not trust unicorns still, but the small talking ponies with wings were alright at least. Fluttershy sure seemed to warm up to you fast. Maybe you were just a really friendly guy. For now at least, it didn't matter, as you were happy to let yourself drift to sleep.

Chapter 3

Uke-Joe

Classes started and a few monotonous weeks passed. You woke up at seven on every weekday to go to class, and arrived back at your apartment just after Fluttershy left for her classes, as she didn't return until the middle of the afternoon. Most of your friends from last year hadn't talked to you much since Mark left, so you had been in the apartment more than you would have been last year. This was fine by Fluttershy who appreciated the company, as she seldom left the apartment anyway. A month after school had started and Fluttershy received two tickets to a Wonderbolt's show with a note from Rainbow Dash, inviting her biggest human fan to come along too.

“You know that show is in Chicago right? That's a good...” you thought for a moment, “eight hours away by car?” Fluttershy had an irrational fear of planes, considering she had wings, so if worst came to worst she could just float right out of the plane, so you didn't even bother asking her to consider that.

“Oh, I know. Couldn't we drive there? I mean, if you don't mind?” She asked.

You laugh, “I don't have a car! Whenever I needed to get around last year, I always got a ride from Mark...” you trailed off. A recent chat with Mark had reminded you that he had left his car with a nearby family member of his, as roads in Equestria weren't designed for heavy automobiles, but pony-drawn carts.

“Hey Flutters, do you think Rainbow could get Mark a ticket to the show too?”

An hour of planning later and you had set Mark up with a free ticket and transportation to the show in Chicago, for which in return he let you borrow his car. You could hardly wait.

“So Flutters, when is this show anyways?”

“Um, October 7th?” You groaned. Three painful weeks of waiting before you got your chance to go to the show in Chicago.

She caught your look of disappointment, or maybe your groan. “I'm sorry. Maybe I could ask Rainbow if she could schedule it sooner?” she said quietly.

You laugh. “I doubt Rainbow could schedule it anytime sooner. The stadium they're going to be performing in has football games in it the previous weekend.” You only knew this because one of your Facebook friends had organized a competition for his Facebook friends to see who got the other ticket to go to the game with him. The event was so poorly attended he ended up calling it off and just sold the ticket, which led to him being laughed at by most people who had friended him on Facebook, including you. “Besides, it's fine.” You sat down and prepared yourself for another boring weekend on your computer.

“Well. Maybe if you want to see a movie or something?” she suggests. You grin at her. She had seldom left the apartment when she wasn't at school, which had irritated you when you wanted company to go out and do anything, which none of your friends from school had been willing to provide.

“Sure! Any movie in particular?”

“Oh, well I saw a commercial for a movie about little squirrels that sang. It looked... cute.”

You try to think about what she could be talking about while pulling up the movies app on your phone, “Alvin and the Chipmunks 14?” She grinned, “You realize that's for little kids right? Besides it got horrible reviews.” You scroll through the first page of your app. “How about Grenade Launcher Chainsaw Massacre 2?” The look of fear and a little disgust on her face reminds you who you're talking to. “Right, nothing too violent.” You exchange scroll down a few movies in search of something that didn't completely suck. A well reviewed and popular Equestrian-Hollywood collaborative film sticks out to you. “Oh! How about this: Derpy Python and the Search for the Holy Grail?”

She got up and sat down beside you on the couch to look at the title page on your phone. “Rainbow Dash loves Derpy Python films! It's not rated R is it?” She had told you about a scarring event she had while watching television one night and not realizing her movie had ended and another had begun. She shuddered at the memory.

“Nope, it's PG-13. You wanna go?”

“Oh, alright then.” You grab a hoodie and head out the door. It wasn't a long walk to the movie theater, but you had been dealing with very windy weather lately, which made it a bit of a pain. You held the door open for Fluttershy and walked in behind her, waiting a few moments to pat your wind whipped hair back in place. By the time you're done Fluttershy has returned with two tickets to the movie.

“Oh, I was going to pay for myself, but thanks, Flutters!” She smiles at you as you take the ticket from her mouth. The person taking the ticket stubs wasn't thrilled with having to take the ticket from her mouth, but you had gotten used to her way of holding things. He ripped off both of your ticket stubs and you started walking towards where snacks were sold. You probably should have sneaked some candy into the movie theater, but Fluttershy had a tendency to overpay people even if she could have gotten the same product somewhere else for cheaper. You pulled out your wallet and glanced up at the sign.

“Oh, i-it's okay Drew, I'd like to pay for this.”

You cock an eyebrow at her. You had never known a woman to refuse to be paid for on any date you had gone on before, although Fluttershy wasn't a woman of course, she was a mare. Even your best friend in high school would gladly accept your generosity if you hadn't decided to split the cost two ways. You also remembered how glad she was to let you help her pay for a car she had drove away to college in right after your rich grandmother died. You shook away the memory and reached out to stop Fluttershy, placing your hand on her back on the base of her folded wing. She froze.

“It's alright Flutters, you got the tickets already, didn't you? I'll get us some popcorn and sodas if you find us some seats.” You walked up and ordered, and looked back to where she was still standing frozen in place, wings perked halfway up as if she was about to fly. You gave her a face and pointed to where your movie was playing. She finally noticed you and shook her head, as if unfreezing herself in the process. She blushed, maybe realizing she had been standing completely still holding up the line of people behind her, and trotted off to the screen your show was playing at. You waited until your bucket of popcorn and fake buttery goodness appeared with two large drinks before grabbing them and finding where your show was playing. You pushed the door open with a knee since your hands were full and walked into a mostly uncrowded theater, just a few groups of people sitting in the back. Fluttershy had picked seats in the middle of the theater, and you followed her over there and put her drink in the cup holder next to her. She had become fairly good at placing straws in drinks with her hooves, largely due to a combination of your laziness to cook and her forgetfulness to go shopping causing many joint trips to fast food places.

The credits were still playing, so you helped yourself to a handful of popcorn. Not one to be inconsiderate, you offered the bucket to Fluttershy. A large explosion drew your face back towards the screen, where another trailer for another action-filled movie with lots of guns and violence and things that Fluttershy would never watch was playing. You finally peeled your eyes from the screen once the trailer ended, and noticed Fluttershy still trying to pin down a single piece of popcorn with a hoof. Some things were simply not done unless you had fingers. You decided to help out both you and her before she was forced to stick her muzzle in the bucket. You were pretty cool with touching things her mouth had touched, but eating them was another question.

You grabbed a handful of popcorn and held it a few inches in front of her face. She looks at it and then towards you, as if to ask if you were really okay with it. You shrug. She returns her gaze back towards the handful of popcorn in front of her. You do your best to restrain yourself from laughing when you feel her rough tongue meet your palm. You settle down right as the movie begins to start.

The movie was actually pretty good, well worth what the ratings gave it. There was enough action and adventure in it to keep you both entertained, but it seemed only you appreciated the humor it provided, laughing louder than you normally would in a movie theater, but then again almost no one was in the theater besides Fluttershy. It didn't help your laughter that Fluttershy's tongue still tickled whenever you offered her popcorn. The movie ended abruptly, and it took you a minute before you realized what had happened, which caused you to laugh again.

“So what did you think of the movie?” you ask as you walk back to the apartment with Fluttershy.

“It was... fun. I didn't understand why it was so funny though.”

“Well...” you begin to answer, trying to come up with a reason, “It just is, I guess!” You laugh again. “Still, it was a pretty good movie.”

“I had a good time,” she agreed. You walked the way back to your apartment in silence. When you reach there you flip open your computer and log onto Facebook.

"Just saw Derpy Python and the Search for the Holy Grail with Flutters. Great movie."

It didn't take long before you heard a chat open up.

Mark Willis: Dude, I saw that movie too! Hilarious. 10 stars. My girlfriend didn't laugh at all though.

You smile as you type a response.

Andrew Smith: It was great because barely anyone was at the theater today, so I'm sure half the soundtrack Fluttershy heard was me laughing. And hey now, I didn't know you were dating! I would have seen if Fluttershy could have sent you another ticket to the show if I knew.

Mark Willis: Oh! She's gonna be there! She works at the Wonderbolt headquarters here in Canterlot so she can get tickets anyways.

Andrew Smith: Oh, nice. I was reading an article online the other day that said lots of job opportunities were open to humans that found themselves in Equestria.

Mark Willis: I'm sure they are. My girlfriend asks me all the time for a wing massage. You have no idea how much a trained human masseuse can make in Equestria. Makes me wish I could go and change my line of work. Oh well.

You read the second sentence again.

Andrew Smith: Wing massage? Dude, you're dating a pony?

Mark Willis: Oh yeah! I probably should have mentioned that! Anyways yeah she's this really cool pegasus. Cool Breeze. Even her name is cool, literally. LOL. But really yeah it might be kinda weird over there on earth but here it's pretty much accepted. Course this is in the land that has allowed gay marriage for as long as it's been around. You'd be surprised by a lot of things here, man.

Mark, the coolest guy you know, was dating a pony? Your mind was boggled to say the least.

Mark Willis: You there? You aren't freaked out right? Like I said, it's pretty normal here in Equestria.

Andrew Smith: Sorry man, was just a bit surprised... Aha. I've never even heard of anyone dating a pony, but hey, I'm not judging you.

Mark Willis: Lol. Well she used to work at a restaurant I'm still working part time for, and we ended up spending a lot of time together. Anyways I have to go. Peace man.

Andrew Smith: Peace.

You closed the laptop and stared at your screen. Mark was always a pretty normal guy, you would have never assumed he would have been dating a pony. Of course, then again, if you were to take him at his word that his girlfriend was really cool, maybe it did work out. You couldn't think of anyone who was cooler than Mark after all.

You half yawned as you got up, opened your door, and flipped onto the couch, a move that had earned the couch a little squeaking noise anytime someone sat down on it. You grabbed a nearby T.V. Remote and flipped through the channels, finally settling on the News channel. You were reminded why you never watched the news after hearing about three straight tragic deaths in a row, and turned the T.V. off and grabbed your laptop. “Just a few minutes of Minecraft before I go to bed, that'll be nice,” you think to yourself.

***

You awaken half on the sofa and half off, head and shoulders on the ground and arms outstretched towards your laptop. You remember how a few minutes had turned into hours of Minecrafting, and although you had made good progress on your giant bridge, you were fairly sure that you were going to pay for your lack of sleep today.

You groan as you flip onto the floor and slowly stand back up, stretching your back. You don't feel nearly as tired as someone who just spent the majority of the night playing video-games should feel. You walk over to the kitchen area and grab turn on your phone. Settling on cereal and soda this morning, you pull out a coke and a box of Fruity Loops and pour it into a newly cleaned bowl. This was the doing of Fluttershy, as an unexpected benefit of having a pony for a roommate was that they were incredibly neat, or maybe Fluttershy was just a clean freak. Still, not a single dish had been unwashed for longer than a day since Fluttershy had moved in. Your phone vibrates in your hand. It was just a text from one of your friends, saying something unimportant about class. Something catches your eye as you shut your phone, so you flip it back open again and check the time.

“2:43. Damn.” You had missed your classes that morning. Not that it especially mattered, since none of your teachers took attendance much, but you hated the studying you would have to do in order to be prepared for any upcoming tests since you had missed an entire class. No such luck, as the text from your friend said that you had missed not the unimportant lesson you hoped for, but the opposite. You opened up Facebook on your phone to find 2 notifications awaiting you. A like on some status of yours, and a bunch of birthday reminders. It shocks you that Fluttershy's name is on the list, since she hadn't said anything.

Not only is her name on the list, but a quick check of the date confirms her birthday is today! Even though you had a legitimate excuse for not knowing about her birthday, you still would feel like a jerk if she thought you had forgot about it. Determined not to have her think you are inconsiderate, you wash up and run out of your apartment.

You hadn't often shopped for gifts for other people, not actually going out and looking for things that is. You mailed out Starbucks cards to your mother on Mothers' Day, that sort of thing, but not often went out with the only intent to buy a actual gift for someone, which led to a problem. You had no idea what to get Fluttershy. You start walking to the nearby target. A sudden gust of wind makes you shiver and wish you had remembered your hoodie. You remind yourself that it is almost fall, and the weather is uncommonly cold already, so your hoodie is going to be more of an everyday thing now. You hustle into the store as the idea hits you.

“A hoodie!” you exclaim to yourself, before feeling very silly and looking around. Fortunately it appears no one heard your outburst. You cross over to where all the clothing is. A few trips around and you decide to guesstimate her size and pull out one dark blue hoodie with a soft inside. You head over to pay for it, but you are stopped when you see Fluttershy standing in one of the lines. You stand in the aisle and wait for her to purchase her things and leave.

A good 20 minutes later, Fluttershy has been content to let everyone she sees pass her in line. At person number 11 you determine enough is enough, and dash over to a self checkout hoping she doesn't see you. Within 10 seconds you have scanned and paid for your item and gotten in a bag, years of experience with the self checkout paying off. You then walk over to where Fluttershy is about to let customer number 12 advance ahead of her.

“Flutters, has anyone ever told you that you need to be more...” you pause, searching for the right word. Decisive? Demanding? "Assertive? Because you do.” She whips around at the mention of her name, but softens when she sees it's just you.

“Oh, um, yes... I was just going to pay for this and then leave...” She holds up a single book in her mouth.

“Are you kidding me? You only have one item? Come on Flutters, consider this an extra gift for your birthday. I'll show you the wonders of the self checkout.”

You lead her over there and explain the self checkout, a process that takes way to long, due to Fluttershy attempting to let anyone that comes in the line behind her use the checkout before she does. Nonetheless, you manage to get her book checked out and leave the store before she succeeds in her goal to let everyone behind her ahead of her and before she sees whats in your bag. You reach the apartment and are about to open up the bag when you pause. Should you have bought a card? Should you have wrapped it? Is the hoodie even her size? Do ponies wear hoodies? And just when you had thought you had such a great idea-

“Um, you said something about a birthday gift?” she interrupts your mental punishment of yourself, “Not that I mind waiting, that is. I just didn't know if you wanted me to be here to get it now or later or-” she begins.

“Uh, yeah I remembered it was your birthday." If by remembering, you really meant that Facebook remembered, yes, you remembered perfectly. “I got you this." You hand her the bag and open the Coke you had gotten out earlier. She pulls out the hoodie and puts it down on the ground in front of her, staring at it, “Thanks for the, um...” she prods it with a hoof, “blanket?”

You sigh and reach down to grab the hood and hold it up for her. Her eyes light up with understanding, “Oh, I mean, the sweater!”

You laugh at her reaction, “It's a hoodie, but whatever. Hopefully it fits and all, I was just guessing your size. If it doesn't, I'll return it for you. Try it on!”

She struggles to lift it over her head and forehooves at the same time, and ends up getting her head and hooves stuck inside of it and falling to the floor. You control your laughter and help her up before guiding her hooves through the arms and head into the hood. You take a step back to see if it fits her, and she looks up and smiles. It is not only pretty much the perfect size for her, but quite honestly, the most adorable thing you have ever seen.

“Uh, you look. uh...” you trail off. “It seems to fit you just fine, yep!” She smiles and walks forward to you, unclear of her intent until the last moment where she steps onto her hind hooves and slides her forehooves against your sides, giving you an awkward hug, considering she doesn't reach to your chest even when she stands like this. You crouch down to a knee and return the hug, deciding to place your hands right between her wings. Within a second, her wings flash out and smack your hands off, reaching full extension in the process, making and audible “poof” noise in the process. You step back cautiously as she squeals and launches herself off of you before running to her room, Stunned, you stand up and walk back to your room, flipping open your laptop once you get there. Facebook holds no new notifications for you, but you realize Mark is online. Maybe a quick conversation with him will help you clear up what just happened.

Andrew Smith: Hey Mark, I gotta question.

Mark Willis: Shoot.

Andrew Smith: Well, I got Fluttershy a gift for her birthday, and she looked completely stunning cute in it by the way. I can see how she could be a model now. But anyways, off topic. Afterward she gave me a sort of thank you hug, but then smacked me with her wings and ran away.

Mark Willis: ...and the question is?

Andrew Smith: Well... I dunno! Did I do something wrong or something?

Mark Willis: Well, did you call her “Stunningly Cute”? Because that's not exactly the type of thing you'd expect to hear from your roommate... By the way your profile pic is adorable, have I told you that?

You gave the computer a questioning look you deeply wished it could convey in Facebook chat. Mark sent a message to clarify.

Mark Willis: That was a joke, just proving how weird it is to call your roommate cute.

Andrew Smith: Haha, I thought you were serious for a second. But anyways no I didn't say anything. Just kinda returned her little awkward hug.

Mark Willis: That might be it! Tell me how you hugged her.

Andrew Smith: Well I sorta knelt so it could actually be a hug and gave her a normal hug. Normal hug for a midget anyways...

Mark Willis: Fluttershy is a pegasus right?

Andrew Smith: Yeah?

Mark Willis: …Uh, okay. Basically, I'm guessing you touched part of her wing or something, which probably caused that reaction from her. Its like when a doctor hits your knee.... sort of.

Andrew Smith: Well that could happen to anyone! She didn't have to go running away afterward!

Mark Willis: Yeah... Is it cool if I just link you to a website?

Andrew Smith: Sure...

Mark Willis: Wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegasus_Anatomy

Just read the whole thing.

You sigh and thank him for the link. Settling down for some reading, you take a gulp of your soda and get to reading.

Chapter 4

Uke-Joe

You rub your temples as you try to concentrate on the article in front of you on your computer. As it turns out, not only had you violated Fluttershy's privacy, but also suggested something intimate by touching her wings. You groan as the consequences of your actions hit you.

It was completely unknown to you of course, there was no reason you should have been informed on pegasus anatomy. Nonetheless, you wouldn't be at all surprised if Fluttershy didn't come out of her room for weeks, being as shy as she was. An even worse thought appeared in your head: what if she moved out?

“I won't let that happen!” you boldly think to yourself, jumping to your feet, “She can't just leave me now!” You pause, “Because of the rent... Yeah, the rent.”

You leap over to the door and fling it open before dashing over to Fluttershy's room. Or, that was what you would have done, had Fluttershy not been right outside your door. You slam on the brakes just in time to stop yourself from trampling her. She jumps back, surprised at the sudden movement. You stare awkwardly at Fluttershy, not quite sure what to say.

“Uh, I just wanted to say-” you begin, Fluttershy's voice echoing your own. You both pause briefly, until Fluttershy decides to continue.

“I just wanted to say it wasn't really your fault. I mean, you had no reason to know that would happen is all.”

“But-” you begin, trying to apologize.

“It really isn't your fault, I was just embarrassed, so I ran off...” She continues her thought as you pull a vibrating phone out of your pocket. One new Facebook message.

“...and that's when Rainbow Dash told me I should go apologize because I you probably didn't even understand and-”

“You told Rainbow?!?” you almost shout, reading the message Rainbow sent you. A very threatening message at that.

“Y-Yes?” Fluttershy mildly responds, surprised from your sudden outburst. You soften your tone, remembering that it was your fault you were in this situation anyways.

“Sorry, I just got this message from Rainbow-” You're interrupted by your phone vibrating again. You laugh as you read Rainbow's new message. Fluttershy casts you a inquiring look, and so you explain the situation to her.

“I guess that does sound like Rainbow. She used to play lots of jokes on ponies back in Ponyville.”

“I guess so. So, are we alright then?”

“Consider yourself forgiven.” She smiles and holds her hooves wide apart, as if beckoning you to come give her a hug. This draws a questioning look from you, but she just smiles back. You lean down and carefully place your hands, one closer to her neck and one a bit below the wings. You're surprised to feel that her coat was actually very soft, far soft than you'd expected. You hadn't noticed this before, besides during the incident earlier in the day, you never really touched a pony, and-

Your train of thought is derailed by the buzzing of your phone, You break off the hug and reach down to inspect it. Fluttershy trots off towards the bathroom.

Rainbow Dash: But really, touch her again and you can kiss your flank goodbye.

You smile and type her a quick response. You hear the shower turning on from inside the bathroom. With no further reason to be loitering just outside of your room, you grab your laptop and sit on the couch, clicking on the Facebook tab and opening your chat with Mark.

Andrew Smith: Ponies are soft.

Mark Willis: Well, yeah... They do have those colorful coats of theirs.

Andrew Smith: Softer than I expected, at any rate. Like a big stuffed animal. Or like the entire collection of beanie babies you had as a kid.

Mark Willis: Sure, they're comfortable enough I guess. Ponies like to give out hugs here in Equestria, so you get used to it. It's like a greeting ritual I guess. Anyways, how are things with soft yellow pony?

Andrew Smith: She completely understood actually. She knew I didn't mean to appear to be hitting on her or invading her space. Things went well.

Mark Willis: So you hugged and made up, but in the process accidentally triggered a reaction showing by touching her wing which made the situation awkward after you realized that said reaction was caused to the pony being a little excited and also stimulation to the wings, right?

Andrew Smith: No... Wait what was that? What's the reaction caused from?

Mark Willis: Did you even read that link I sent you? It's not like you just poke a some ponies wings and “POMF” insta-wingboner. Pretty common sense.

Andrew Smith: You mean, Fluttershy was... turned on or something?

Mark Willis: Yeah, because you're a sexy hunk of a man Andrew.

You start to type: “But... She's a pony!” but don't send it. Instead, you delete the message. After all, Mark was dating a pony. He probably found some feature about them that was attractive, so he wouldn't understand, and might even take offense.

“Sure, ponies can be cute,” you think to yourself, recalling Fluttershy wearing the Hoodie. “but that's different. I would never think of Fluttershy as a-”

You thoughts are interrupted by the opening of the bathroom door. You glance over at the steam filled room before going back to typing a response to Mark, but almost immediately look back towards the bathroom. Mane and tail still dripping with water, she walks out of the bathroom and into her bedroom, coat glistening from the water still covering it. As she enters her room you catch a glimpse of her curvy flanks, also glistening from the her shower. She exits your sight after what feels like forever and shuts her door, oblivious to your staring. You slowly get back to typing your response to Mark, but first shift your computer's position from your lap, realizing it has become uncomfortable. You pause as you realize the reason it has become discomforting to you.

Andrew Smith: … Ponies are sexy.

Chapter 5

Uke-Joe

Finally, the weekend you had waited for had arrived. Everything was set up: you had Mark's old car, a hotel room was reserved for the weekend, and all your bags were in the car. Four days, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, filled with as much fun as a tourist could have. If only Fluttershy would get in the car.

“Really Fluttershy! It's not dangerous! I've never crashed a car before,” you say, pulling at a clothed hoof as Fluttershy had decided to wear her hoodie you had bought her. A breeze that sends goosebumps up your unclothed arms reminds you why she was wearing a hoodie anyways. But, unfortunately for you, the remaining three hooves had seemingly glued themselves to the ground.

Fluttershy stubbornly remains still, staying at least 5 feet away from the car at all times. “It's just that, it's so... fast... and scary... and … confined...”

Looking at the beast that was Mark's van, you could hardly say that it was confined. “Flutters! This is the most spacious it gets! More room then you would have on a jet, or a bus, or a train. It's not nearly as fast as some of those. And it's about as scary as you are Fluttershy! We'll be safe!”

“Well... I don't know...” She hesitates. It wasn't like she had much of a choice if she wanted to get to Chicago. You sigh and pretend to walk away, heading towards your apartment behind her. Instead, however, you turn around right as you exit Fluttershy's field of view and grab a hold of her hoodie's drawstrings, shutting the hood in one swift motion. Before she reacts to this, you pick her up and place her in the shotgun seat of the car, buckling her in. You shut the door and jump in the other side of the vehicle, starting it up. Beside you, Fluttershy frantically fiddles with the seat-belt. Before she can figure out how to release herself, you pull out from the parking and toward the street. Already, Fluttershy grabs both sides of her seat, eyes wide open, staring at the road ahead. If it wasn't she honestly seemed to be scared for her life, and flinched when a car passed by you, you might have broken out laughing. You hope your announcement for the day would keep her mind off the potential dangers on the road ahead of her.

“So, Flutters... You really like animals, right?” you ask, slowly navigating the not so crowded roads, as you had recommended leaving early enough to be able to enjoy your day in Chicago.

“Y-Y-yes...?” she manages out, not taking her eyes off of the road.

“Well, I was thinking... In Chicago they have an aquarium, apparently a really good one too. There's lots of fish there and stuff. If you would like to go-”

“Oh yes! I love my animal creatures, but I don't get to see underwater creatures nearly enough. Sometimes, I wish I was a seaweed, so I could be with my sea creature friends all the time.”

Although her answer was a bit odd, the idea of spending a day looking at creatures not always accessible to her seemed to help her lighten up. You decide now would be a good time to ask.

“Great! So can I go over 10 miles per hour now?”

The trip continues, and before too many hours Fluttershy had almost stopped shaking completely. However, due to her being tensed up almost the entire way, she needed to get out and stretch. You pulled over at the nearest rest area and help her out of the car before going to fetch yourself a snack from one of the vending machines. You pull out your wallet, stocked for a weekend of vacationing, and purchase a Snickers bar.

You walk back to the park bench Fluttershy is stretching at, first stretching her legs, propping a forehoof on the park bench and leaning. She steps up on the park bench and unfolds her wings. You stop chewing your Snickers and marvel at this sight, Fluttershy's full wingspan extended, feathers pointed out, glowing a bright yellow in the rays of sun, her pink mane flowing out in the wind--

“Uh, D-Drew?”

Your thoughts are interrupted as you realize the staring probably is making her uncomfortable. You take another bite of your Snickers, almost finishing it off.

“Uh- So, are we ready to go then Flutters?” She answers by fluttering off the park bench and stepping up into the front seat of the car. You grab the discarded hoodie she took off on the park bench, and follow her into the car.

Due to you following Fluttershy's strict rules to stay at exactly the speed limit, you arrive in Chicago a couple of hours after noon. You park the car in the parking garage next to the hotel you and Fluttershy are staying at and go check into the hotel before going anywhere. The person behind the desk directs you to the elevators and gives you your key card to your room. Fluttershy insists that you just drop you stuff off into the hotel room and go to the Aquarium. You don't see any reason to keep Fluttershy waiting, and within a few minutes are back outside again. You look around for the nearest bus stop, but pause as you realize a bus was probably the last thing Fluttershy wanted to be in right now. You decide to walk the few blocks down to the Aquarium. Fortunately, your phone's GPS makes it easy to track down a path to the Aquarium. Fluttershy hovers her way alongside you, her excitement fueling the longest straight flight you've seen since Fluttershy has been your roommate. You're almost sad to see it end when you reach the steps up to the entrance of the aquarium.

The main attraction for most visitors to the Shedd Aquarium may have been the tanks full of Sea turtles or sharks, of exhibits with jellyfish and such, but by far the most entertaining thing was Fluttershy, chasing down all the different creatures. Like a kid in a candy shop, and most likely wearing the same expression, Fluttershy giddily buzzed around the aquarium visiting all the creatures she could find. Although you also enjoyed an exhibit or two, watching Fluttershy was far more satisfying. You pull out your buzzing phone while following Fluttershy towards a tank full of a few long fish.

The number is new to you, “Hello? Who is this?”

“Drew? DREW! Hey man! It's Mark. Me and Cool Breeze are here in Chicago, and probably will be checked into our hotel room and everything by 6, if you want to go grab some dinner with us.”

“Mark! What happened to your old phone? And that's great as long as Fluttershy can come. Don't want to ditch her alone in a big city, she might freak out.”

“Well of course I'm inviting her too! Anyways do you want to meet somewhere or get together first?”

You consider a moment before replying, “Why don't you meet us in the front lobby of our hotel. We should get back there by 6:30 or so anyways.”

“'Kay sounds good. See ya then.”

“Alright later.” Your phone beeps and you return it to your pocket. You had about an hour left until you had to meet Mark. You might as well go get Fluttershy and start walking back. You follow her to where a show is going on, and Fluttershy is watching the beluga whales dance. On the other hand, Mark could wait, the look of awe on Fluttershy's face was worth it.

***

“Oh, and the otters?”

“Yes, I saw the otters, Fluttershy. I took pictures of them.” Fluttershy is almost instantly by your side, peering over your shoulder at your phone. You had taken plenty of pictures of the visit to the aquarium, and were more than willing to share them with Fluttershy. You flip through pictures as you walk back towards your hotel. It's only a bit past 6:45, but already the sun is starting to set a little bit. You pick up the pace. You reach the hotel lobby just as your phone rings again.

“Hey,” you answer

“Yo Drew, buddy, you forgot to tell us what hotel were headed to.”

You groan, “Sorry, We're staying at the Hilton hotel. The one by Grant Park I think.” You begin walking towards the elevator. Your phone beeps, and you look down to see that Mark has exited the call. It isn't a moment later before-

“DREW!” You spin around to see who called your name. Sure enough, Mark and a blue pegasus are sitting in the hotel lobby. You grin and walk towards them.

Mark offers you a handshake but pulls you into a bro-hug anyways. He always was the hugging sort.

Mark quickly breaks the hug and motions to the blue mare beside him, “Drew, Cool Breeze, Cool Breeze, Drew.” You both greet each other.

“Pleasure! And this is Fluttershy.”

You glance to your right where Fluttershy has been observing Mark and Cool Breeze. Fluttershy looks to the both of them and smiles before offering a mild “Hello."

With the introductions out of the way, you exchange news on the events of the day and Cool Breeze questions Fluttershy about the Aquarium. You pull out your phone to determine a restaurant, but Mark suggests everyone go for a walk until you find somewhere that sells pizza. The party sets out, you and Mark leading the way while Fluttershy and Cool Breeze chat behind you.

“So, Cool Breeze works for the Wonderbolts?” you ask.

Mark nods, “Yep, she recently took charge of their Earth pony program. A pretty big promotion. She oversees all the events specifically designed for earth ponies, like Wonderbolt sky diving. They're a lot more than just shows, you know.”

“I guess so. So would she know anything about how the show's going to be this Saturday?”

“Well, I can guess it's going to be pretty grand, and that's saying something because all their shows are grand. But this one, being the first on Earth, it's going to be awesome. Some magician pony is going to be there, doing tricks before the performance. At any rate, it's going to be great. That's for sure.”

You agree and follow Mark into a restaurant. It turns out that all the pizza served there is deep dish, but that's your favorite kind anyways. You keep in mind the present company and don't order any meat on yours. First impressions and all that.

“So uh, Cool Breeze, how is working for the Wonderbolts?”

She turns her attention towards you, brushing her yellow mane away from her face. “It's really great, just what I wanted to do. I'm a bit of a daredevil, so earth pony stunts are just my style.” You notice her cutie mark, a parachute. Her mane even looked a little windswept.

“You know, I'm a bit of a daredevil too,” Mark chimes in. Even Cool Breeze looks surprised by him saying this. “It's true! Just this morning, I drank a glass of milk.” He paused. “It was a full day expired.”

You can't help but laugh. Mark's jokes were almost never funny, but he delivered them with a style only he could pull off, and you couldn't help but laugh. Fluttershy even giggled a bit. But Cool Breeze.... You could see why her and Mark were dating. She burst out into a laugh that made the table shake a bit. It drew a few more stares from surrounding tables, but you didn't mind, ponies already drew stares anyways.

The pizza arrived, and if deep dish was Chicago's style of pizza, you had no excuse for not coming to Chicago before. It was simply one of the best pizzas you had ever tasted. You ate even more than you normally would have. By the time you had arrived back at the hotel and said goodbye to Mark and Cool Breeze and arrived in your hotel room, you were exhausted. You lay down on the only bed in the room and almost fall asleep before it hit you.

“Uh, Fluttershy, you got us a room with two beds right?” You ask. She puts her suitcase down and stares at you, before the realization hits her too.

“Um- maybe.... Not? I'm so sorry...” She frowns

“No Flutters, it's fine, I'll just ask for a cot or something.” You jump up off the bed and walk over to the elevator, starting towards the front desk. A quick explanation of your situation and they promise to get you a cot as soon as possible.

You return to a silent hotel room. Fluttershy evidently fell asleep in the bed. Probably better that she was asleep so she didn't try to offer to take the cot anyways. You sit down on a chair and yawn. After 10 minutes of waiting, you're too sleepy to think. You lay down on one side of the bed and wait for the cot to come.

You are asleep a good 30 minutes before the cot arrives, peacefully dreaming. Dreaming of feather pillows. Soft, yellow, feathery pillows.

Chapter 7

Uke-Joe

You wake up to what feels like a full night of sleep. Although still slightly drowsy from that just-woken-up feeling, you peel your eyes open to be greeted by early morning light seeping into the room between the cracks in the blinds. A fuzzy, warm feeling fills you as you enjoy the soft light of the morning slowly illuminating the room, revealing a curled up Fluttershy nuzzled against your chest, her breaths tickling your ribcage and her soft mane brushing against your neck. Smiling, you contentedly close your eyes and drift back asleep, enjoying the presence of the beautiful mare against you with a smile on your face.

***

“GO RAINBOW DASH!” yells someone behind you. Rainbow had clearly gone out of her way to find her friends good seats, as you were seated in the very front row. Unfortunately, these seats also came with the most devoted fans of the Wonderbolts, who filled the air with loud cheers whenever a spectacular stunt was performed.

However, sitting next to Fluttershy and Twilight balanced the noises around you, with the both of them taking a much more laid-back approach to cheering. Not to say they weren't supportive of their friend, but a soft “yay” or a “woohoo!” was much more pleasant to listen to than the ruckus that everyone else around you was creating. Despite this, the show was a very exciting experience, filled with maneuvers none but the most talented pegasus could attempt. The renowned group made it look easy, grinning wildly as they soared through the air. You turn to Twilight, who is busy explaining the most anticipated stunt of the show to you.

“…and that's how Rainbow performs her world famous Sonic Rain-” ripples of multi-hued colors race across the sky from where a loud boom had just sounded. The crowd explodes into applause.

“…That.” Twilight breaks out into a smile, fascinated by the majestic Sonic Rainboom. The show ending, you join the rest of the group in their way out of the stadium to go meet Rainbow Dash. Trudging up the stairs filled with excited fans, you slowly but surely make your way out of the stadium and into the lot, where you are greeted by Rainbow.

“That was a super show, Dashie!” the ever excited Pinkie Pie yelps.

You chime in: “Expect for that show to be all over YouTube, it really was spectacular. The Wonderbolts probably just booked themselves an extended tour here on Earth.”

“Thanks, guys,” Rainbow replies, grinning. “I wish I could stay for longer, but I have to go; we're already moving to the next place. Besides, you know how busy things can get.”

“So soon?” Fluttershy asks, sounding disappointed.

“I'm afraid I'll be leaving too, Carousel Boutique is probably already swamped with orders.”

“Ah have the farm to be tending to…”

“The Cakes have a HUGE order I have to be back to work on, so I have to go or else there won't be any delicious and creamy hazelnut chocolate covered cake for anypony!”

Twilight, seeing Fluttershy's disappointment, speaks up, “I'm still going to be staying here today, if you wanted to do something Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy brightens up at this, “Oh, yes! That would be wonderful!”

Twilight smiles and looks at you, “Care to tag along?”

“Sounds good to me,” you honestly reply. You wander off to a bathroom as the ponies say their goodbyes, regretting the large soda you had consumed during the show. Fortunately, the bathroom is fairly uncrowded, so you get your business done and wash your hands before finding Twilight and Fluttershy waiting for you, the others having presumably gone their separate ways.

“So, Twilight, where did you want to go?” you ask the unicorn as you head off to find a taxi.

“Well, I heard there's a pretty cool museum-” Twilight stops as you chortle. You cough and return you attention to her.

“A very interesting museum not far from the aquarium you both went to. I think it will be fun!”

You and Fluttershy both agree, seeing as you had no plans anyway. A hop, skip, and a jump into a taxi, and you arrived at the museum in question: The Field Museum. Though she was slightly intimidated by the sight of the skeletal dinosaur in the front, Fluttershy was enthralled by the exhibits about wildlife, and Twilight was equally fascinated to learn all about each exhibit. From Sue the T-Rex, to the exhibit about life underground, Twilight read all the plaques out loud. Pretending to care, you tagged along. You were still enjoying the experience. Fluttershy learned about creatures she had seldom seen, because they spent most of their time underground.

“So Twilight, Fluttershy, how long have you two known each other?” you ask as you stand by an exhibit about malaria.

“Ever since I came to Ponyville, a few years ago. Fluttershy probably told you the story about Nightmare Moon, though.”

It was true: you had known the story ever since you asked Rainbow Dash on Facebook what the Elements of Harmony were. It struck you that you were socializing with some pretty high-up ponies in the Equestrian government.

“I was even a little scared of you at first Twilight, but then we got to know each other and we've been friends ever since!”

Although you were sure Twilight could stay for hours looking at the exhibits, you felt that it was about time for dinner. Since the show hadn't started until three, you had slept past lunch and breakfast, a choice that you were now paying for. The pair was snapped out of their happy search through the museum by your stomach rumbling. You make your way to the most available restaurant, a McDonald's you had pulled up on your GPS.

“I think we're pretty much done here anyway, right Fluttershy?” Twilight asks.

“You should have told us you were so hungry!” exclaims Fluttershy.

“I'm really fine, do you two want anything?” you ask as you approach the counter. Fluttershy asks for a sundae and Twilight asks for some fries. You order yourself a meal and sit down at a table, biting into your first real food that day. Twilight and Fluttershy talked while you ate, but you were captivated by your meal; the burger tasted absolutely divine, and there was a decent chance you cleared your tray in less than ten minutes flat.

“So what do you think about that idea?” Twilight asks you.

You pause as you search your brain for what she just said. Drawing a blank, you ask her to repeat herself.

“What do you think about Twilight coming to stay with us in the apartment? She is here to research pony/human interactions, after all, so our university might be a fine example!” Fluttershy asks rather excitedly.

“Of course. There's plenty of space for me in your room, right Fluttershy?” Twilight asks to a nodding Fluttershy. “So, as long as you don't mind, that sounds like a great idea!”

You consider this. It would be pretty useful to have a unicorn in your apartment, as well as connections to some important people in Equestria. You were going to be looking for a job before too long, after all. Seeing nothing wrong with this, you agree.

“Yeah, sure. Depending on how long you're staying, we have a couch and a spare bed tucked away in the closet I think... Although hopefully it isn't as bad as the one Fluttershy and I received from the hotel.” You give a brief laugh.

“What was wrong with the hotel one?” Twilight asked.

“Oh, some spiders were already living there, so Drew kindly escorted them from our room to the hallway.”

“So did the hotel give you another cot?” Twilight asks.

“No, I just took one side of the bed,” you say. Twilight looks a little shocked.

“You mean you two slept together?” Twilight asks.

“Oh no-no-no, it's not- we're not- eeeep!” Fluttershy squeaks, attempting to hide behind her mane.

“Of course I didn't mean it like that Fluttershy! I was only going to say that you could have just come to my hotel if you wanted to.” Twilight offers. “You can tonight too if you're staying here another day.”

You look at your watch. “I'd be kind of crazy to leave now, Twilight, it's getting pretty late. I'll help Fluttershy bring her stuff to your hotel if she wants to.”

Fluttershy recovers a little bit, mumbling out a thank you and accepting both of your offers in a voice audible only to Twilight.

“Alright Fluttershy, I'll be waiting,” she says, getting up to leave. She turns towards you, “I'll put the name of the place into your phone,” she says, lighting up her horn. Sure enough, walking directions between your two hotels appears on your phone. You offer her a nod of thanks and a smile, which she returns before walking out towards her hotel. You take care of your trash and help Fluttershy up, heading towards your hotel. Upon arrival, she grabs a comb and her toothbrush and you head out again, walking towards Twilight's hotel.

Fluttershy walks beside you as you cross the street and turn onto the sidewalk, accidentally bumping into you. You look down to her as she glances up at you, her cute face seeming to redden a shade before looking away. Curious, you smile at her odd behaviors. It seems to you that everything she does is about twice as cute as it has the right to be. Of course, you tended to think that about your pony roommate anyway, but her shy tendencies made her just that much more enjoyable.

You hold the door open for her as she steps into the hotel. Pressing Twilight's floor number on the elevator, you feel something wrap around your lower back. Fluttershy looks up and smiles at you, holding you with her left wing. You smile back as the elevator dings and you walk towards the room number.

“Hey Drew, I was wondering if, um…” she trails off as you reach the door to Twilight's room.
“I'll come by tomorrow to pick you and Twilight up, don't worry,” you respond

“Well, actually-”

“And then I'll drive us to the apartment.”

“But-”

“Unless Twilight wants to-”

“Drew!” Fluttershy jumps up to place her fore-hooves on your chest, bringing you almost nose to muzzle. She realizes her proximity and retreats slightly, sheepishly tucking her face behind her mane. After a moment of this, she looks back up at you, blushing slightly. You tuck some of her mane back behind her face and hold her there. Moments pass, nothing but her turquoise eyes in your vision and butterflies in your stomach. You close your eyes and lean forward.
“OhMyGoshFluttershyWhereverHaveYouBeenOhHeyDrewBye!” Twilight magics Fluttershy into her hotel room and slams the door in between her room. You sit there, unsure of what to make of the situation, before turning back down the hallway and walking to your hotel room.

Chapter 8

Uke-Joe

Home Sweet Home

Not that you hadn't enjoyed your vacation, but you had been eager to return back to your comfortable apartment. Your returning to class was a disappointing greeting to your arrival back to Abbottsville, but today you weren't going to worry about that just yet as you kick back on the couch and flip open your laptop. Since Fluttershy had class today, you decide you might as well relax a few hours until she returned, You update your Facebook Status to reflect your current mood.

Andrew Smith: Bored, Anything I should do today?

It probably wouldn't be too long until somebody posted a wiseass remark on such an easy target, something along the lines of "get a life". You open up a game of Minesweeper for the wait. Pointing your mouse over the upper lefthand corner square, you click, exploding a mine as facebook blinks open a chat with Mark. Stunned from your sudden doom in minesweeper, you read Mark's message to you.

Mark Willis: Why don't you..... Grow some and ask Yellow Model Pony out on a date, hmm???

Smiling at his joking attitude, you type in a response.

Andrew Smith: Maybe I will....

Mark Willis: Really?!?

You pause, bit your lip, and shuffle around a bit on the couch before answering again.

Andrew Smith: ...Probably not.

Defeated, you get up to walk over to fetch yourself a soda as you wait a response from Mark. Forgetful of Twilight's presence in the household, you leave your computer on the couch. Sure enough, once you return from your adventure to fetch a soda, Twilight has positioned herself on the couch, hooves neatly folded beneath her as she lays down, reading your messages.

"Hi Twilight!" You shout, startling her as you shut your laptop and pick it up. She looks at you, embarrassed a bit.

"Good morning, Drew!" she responds, somewhat sheepishly. "I just saw your laptop open, and I-"

You interrupt her, saving her from what must have been an embarrassing apology, "It's fine Twilight, there's probably not anything there you couldn't have determined already"

She smiles in acknowledgment as you sit down on the other side of the couch, "I suppose it does make sense-" She gasps in realization, "So outside of my hotel room, you two...."

You scratch the back of your head, "Yeah..."

"So the two of you are together?"

You pause a moment before answering, "No. Not yet anyways, hence Mark bothering me about it"

"Wow! This is very interesting! Great research for me to send to Princess Celestia! I have front view seating to one of the first human-pony couples! I can't wait to tell the Princess about this!"

"Woah, hold on, Twilight!" You exclaim, "I haven't even asked her out on a date yet!"

She gives you a puzzled look, "Well what are you waiting for?" She lifts you into the air and out the door, "Tell me how it goes!"

A click sounding from the door alerts you that you are probably locked out of your own apartment. "Wait! Should I be worried about any cultural differences or something? Maybe I should take some time to consider this!"

"I'm sure you'll be fine!" Twilight calls back to you. Not entirely comforted by this, you doubted that Twilight, overly excited to provide Princess Celestia with information, would let you in until you had at least talked to Fluttershy. Sighing, you make your way down the hall.

***

Twilight stepped over to where Drew had left his laptop, and opened it. She logged onto her own Facebook and clicked on her messages to send one to her friend Rarity

Twilight: Drew is on his way to ask Fluttershy out now! Although if you hadn't been so insistent that they followed the proper order of how you think relationships should work, and forced me to keep them apart until Drew had asked her out, they'd probably already be in each other's hooves... erm.... arms.

It wasn't long before Rarity had typed her message and sent it back, a perk of having magic in the world of computers.

Rarity: I have the support of countless authors and relationship experts to back me up on this! Fluttershy should not be stepping up and kissing him until they've at least acknowledged that they're together! Nevermind that he should have made the first move! Besides, where would they have gone from there? It's not like you would have let the two of them in your room to do it, and don't even bring up the possibility of the hallway

Twilight: Maybe humans have a much slower and drawn out process for that kind of thing, Rarity. At any rate, I doubt that they'll have a typical or normal relationship, unless you've contacted an expert on human-pony relationships recently?

Rarity: No, but I have no doubt that I would have, were one to exist. I suppose it'd be useful to know exactly how the process was for humans.

Twilight: Well, there's one on his way to Fluttershy as we speak, so I'll be sure to send you a report on how he approaches her. If I find out, that is!

Rarity: I'm so excited for her! Yes, please do! I'll just be waiting anxiously, then!

Twilight smiled as she shut the laptop, logging out of her Facebook first. There wasn't any reason for Fluttershy or Drew to not submit to an interview, after all! Twilight trotted off to her room, fetching paper to prepare a list of questions for her friends to answer once they returned.

***

You make your way out of the building when you're stopped by a thought that's just entered your mind: When was the last time you had asked any person, let alone anypony, out on a date?

You take a moment to consider this. In fact, the answer was not since highschool. That was a girl though, what if ponies were different? They were a whole different culture! Who were you to just assume that the typical dating procedure would be similar enough for you to just waltz on over to any pony you pleased and ask them if they'd like to join you for a meal or something?

Of course, both Mark and Twilight had encouraged you, and they had both either gone through the process or observed and read about it, for sure. And there was the fact that Mark was dating a Pony, so cultures couldn't be that different. If you really had to, you could just ask Mark about it later, you finally conclude. Satisfied with your findings, you continue on your way towards where Fluttershy would be.

Since there was still a bit of time until her class got out, you decide to wait on a bench not far from the building you knew her class was in, although unsure of which room in the building exactly.Not that that particularly mattered, as invading her class to ask her a question, regardless of the importance of the question to you, would probably only serve to embarrass her and hurt your chances of her answering towards your favor severely. You decide it's best if you just sit there, innocently chopping apart fruit on your phone. After a few games, a new highscore, and what feels like a couple minutes has passed, you check the time on your phone, realizing that it had actually been 15 minutes. You realize due to your sweaty hands, weak knees, and slightly sick feeling in your stomach that you are more than likely nervous about this. Or that the brand name "Mom's Spaghetti" you ate this morning made you sick, which was unlikely because you had been eating that brand since you were a kid and your mom made it for you. Surprisingly, checking your reflection in your phone's screen calms you slightly, as you still appear calm and confident, smiling.

A flow of people to your right alerts you that some class has ended, so you quickly pocket your phone, standing up and searching for your pink maned friend. At the tail end of the mass of people, toting her bag of some sort for her books, you spot Fluttershy.

"Flutters!" You call out. Her ears lift and she looks your way, smiling as she sees you. She trots over to where you are.

"Oh, Hello Drew! It's nice to see you here" She smiles softly.

"Thanks Flutters," you stand up, walking towards the exit with her, your knees shaking and palms sweating, but smiling anyway, "I was just wondering if maybe you'd like to go, erm, get something to eat?" You pause, waiting a moment for an answer, before quickly adding, "Like, on a date?"

A bit surprised by your sudden offer, she looks up and smiles, apparently eager to, "Oh, I'd love to! I'm glad you asked me!"

A rush of happiness in your success pours over you, curing your shaky knees and sweaty palms. You gleefully add a little hop to your step, before feeling silly and toning it down to a dopey smile on your face.

"So are we going back to the apartment? Is Twilight there?"

"I believe she is, but I figured we could go to a restaurant or something, there's a diner not too far from here..." you trail off as you catch a surprised look on her face.

"Won't there be people there?" She asks.

"Of course! Well, probably. Why wouldn't there be?

***Equestria, a few months ago***

Mark paused outside of Breeze's door, knocking on it a few times first. Happy that she had asked him over for a date, he was still a bit curious of why she insisted they meet at her house for a first date. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but it was strange enough that she had asked him out, and then insisted that it should be at her place, even when he suggested that he would pay for a meal or a movie elsewhere. Still, he wasn't going to complain. Breeze was a competent mare, he wasn't going to question her judgement.

It wasn't as if they hadn't had feelings for each other for a while, and even hung out outside of work before. He was also pretty sure he had caught her checking him out a few times before, a crime of which he admitted to himself he was guilty of also, only vice versa. She was an attractive mare, at least to him. He smiled as she opened the door.

"Hey Mark! Come on in! I'm glad you could come!" She eagerly invited him.

Ducking into her house, he observed that it was recently cleaned. Cool Breeze made her way past him, and he noticed a very pleasant smell, something she was wearing, perhaps? He followed her into a room and sat down on the couch, observing a fire going in the fireplace.

"So what've you got planned? Are we watching a movie or something?"

Breeze gave Mark a questioning look, "That's... not exactly what I had in mind". Then, a new look was given to Mark, one he hadn't seen before.

"Uh, alright. I'm down for whatever" Mark smiled, "So, what will we be doing this evening?"

She got up from beside him and guided him to follow her with her wing. Moving around the couch and towards another door, she put a hoof up to the door and brushed his face with her tail as he followed behind her.

"Why don't I just show you?" She answered, opening the door to her bedroom. Unsure of what to make of this, yet excited, Mark dumbly followed her, grinning wildly.

***Equestria, Carousel Boutique, earlier this current day***

Rarity waited impatiently as she shut trotted away from her computer. Although Twilight had insisted she buy the thing in order to keep in touch with Fluttershy, she had quickly discovered the many uses it had, and grown to enjoy the thing. She smiled as she trotted off to check on what orders she had to finish this week.

"Oh I hope that their date goes okay, Fluttershy is more than deserving of a capable stallion" Rarity worried aloud.

Peeking out of a doorway, Sweetie Belle entered the room, "What was that, sis?"

"Oh, nothing... Fluttershy has a date with that Drew fellow today and I was hoping she enjoyed it. You know how well all of her other dates have ended up..."

"You mean the ones that you tried to set up for her, but she just sat there and couldn't build up the courage to actually ask them?" Sweetie Belle inquired

"No, Sweetie, those aren't really dates at any rate. I'm talking about when she actually did invite a stallion into her home."

"Oh! And then she just sat there and didn't build up the courage to do anything!"

"Precisely! It's not like those stallions she asked were real keepers, but none the less, a mare has a duty to fulfill on a first date!"

"I thought a first date was just when two ponies got together and had fun" Sweetie Belle innocently stated.

"Wha-? Oh, yes! Sorry Sweetie, I don't mean to confuse you about anything!" Rarity recalled what she had told her younger sister about relationships, "At any rate, they should be having fun, if their doing it right"

"Doing what right sis?"

Rarity face-hoofed, and yet still remembered that her young sister didn't even have her cutie mark yet. She sighed as she was about to respond to her sister, and then a wild thought hit her. What if in human culture, ponies, or people, actually went out and legitimately had fun for an evening during their first date. What if Fluttershy, unaware of this, and Drew, unaware of the typical process in pony culture, got stuck in a horribly awkward situation all due to this grand misunderstanding on both sides! What if Drew, and Humans in general, went through a painstakingly long dating process, taking planned steps and progressing ever so slowly until finally, often times months into a relationship before they finally accomplished what most ponies would on a first date. Rarity paused, horrified at the situation that this might place her friend in, if she wrongly assumed that Drew was asking her to a place just to have-

"Sex"

Rarity paused, acknowledging that she had accidentally answered her sisters question. Sweetie Belle, on the other hand, looked thoroughly confused.

"...Rarity?"

"Yes Sweetie Belle?"

"....What's sex?"

Chapter 9

Uke-Joe

You open the door for Fluttershy and step inside the small diner. You find your eyes following her as she walks in, along her mane, folded golden wings, back, and her round-

Shaking your head, you quickly step in the restaurant as well, careful not to scare off your friend with your strange actions. You smile as you slide into the other side of a booth that she has chosen, and glance down at a menu. You make some pleasant small talk about her classes. Before too long a waiter comes to take your orders. You ponder over the menu a moment before deciding.

"I'll have the ham and cheese omelet please," you say as you hand her the menu. She nods and turns to Fluttershy, who seemed to be distracted by the salt shaker. You gently prod her with your foot.

"Oh! Um, I'll have the chocolate chip pancakes, please."

"Sure thing. I'll be right back with your drinks." The waiter collects Fluttershy's menu and hurries off.

You gaze across the table at Fluttershy, remembering how pretty she is, her gorgeous mane and dazzling eyes. Unsure what exactly to say, you keep looking at her until she notices your stare, which is quite a while, as she's seemingly avoiding eye contact, and only looks up when she notices the silence. She giggles and looks down again when she notices you smiling at her, and occasionally glances over at you, smiling to yourself at her cute giggle. You break this after a minute by asking a question.

"So, what are first dates on Equestria normally like? If you don't mind sharing."

Fluttershy looked alarmed for a moment, eyes widening, uncertain what to say. She is temporarily unsure what to say exactly, mumbling few words, before pausing, processing a thought in her head, and trying again.

"They're... nice. Two ponies typically just get together and have... fun".

You smile, fortunate that there wasn't some conflicting cultural difference between first dates, at least. "What about on Earth?" says Fluttershy.

"More or less the same, I suppose." You stop speaking as the waiter delivers your food, and lose track of the topic you were speaking of, instead turning your focus to your food, as you hadn't eaten much that day. Fluttershy was too cute when she was eating pancakes, trying to spread butter on them was a challenge with hooves. You made a mental note to make pancakes for her sometime. Before too long, you're paying for the meal and leaving, heading out the door once again and to your apartment. The strong winds make talking a little bit awkward until you're in the apartment building. You start up the stairs when Fluttershy poses a question.

"Not to complain or anything, Drew, but I was wondering if were were going to, uh, BE having fun, on our date."

And just like that, you froze mid step. Fluttershy had expected more, obviously! Not just a simple breakfast, what was the point of that? You had gotten meals together many times before. You quickly realized you had to make this date special, how could you have been so dumb? You should be doing something more exciting, but instead here you were, with a date that hadn't had fun with you. Your brain scrambles for something to say until you realize that Fluttershy, who was walking up the stairs a little bit before you, hadn't realized you had stopped. You ran to catch up with her

"Oh, that was just the beginning!" You claim, "Just, uh, fueling up for the rest of the fun we're going to be having all of today. I don't have plans at all, so we can do fun things all day!"

Fluttershy's eyes widen. "All day?" she asks, softly.

"Sure! If that's okay with you."

You walk down the hallway to your apartment door and open it for Fluttershy, following behind her. The house is the same way you left it, except Twilight apparently left to go somewhere. Fluttershy picks up a note from the kitchen counter.

I know I was going to ask you guys some things about how your date went, but I have some errands to run. I should be back around 8 or so.
~Twilight

Well, that's good. Having it be just the two of you would be more like a date. You smiled at Fluttershy.

"So I guess we're alone for a few hours." You winked, but instantly regretted it, fearing you might be more flirty than she'd be comfortable with. You sit down on the couch, then leaning over to look under the couch, hopefully find a deck of cards or something, anything fun for the two of you to do. You feel Fluttershy jump on the couch next to you, and her warm body up against your shoulder. You laugh and look to see what she's doing.

In a moment of boldness, she suddenly kisses you. You vision becomes consumed by pink mane and yellow coat, before you close your eyes and press your lips against hers. She pulls back, half hiding her face behind her mane, looking down for a moment, then looking back at you, trying to determine how you felt about that. To say you were delighted by her sudden boldness was an understatement. She stared at you with her big blue eyes, trying to determine your thoughts. You smile at her, turning your body towards her on the couch, and reach out your hand along the side of her face, running your fingers through her hair. She appears more excited than timid, smiling back at you, so you pull her towards you slightly, your lips meeting again, her soft face pressed against yours. Her hooves lean you back against the armrest of the couch. You wrap your other hand around her back, and feel something unexpected in return. You pause a moment, trying to determine what is happening. Still unsure what is going on, you look down to where Fluttershy's wing is trying, and failing, to unbutton your pants.

You and Fluttershy both pause, looking rather confused. This was completely unexpected from Fluttershy, but to her, you stopping is what confused her. In your combined confusion, the only thing both of you have to say is-

"...What?"

*Canterlot, Equestria, a little while ago*

Twilight Sparkle entered Princess Celestia's office, the large, tough looking guard-pony swinging the doors open in front of her. Most ponies would have been intimidated, but Twilight smiled as she trotted towards the Princess's desk.

"Twilight Sparkle," the princess beamed at her student as Twilight crossed the few steps in between the door and her mentor. After a short embrace, the Princess retreated behind her desk where there were several papers in front of her, magically lifting one to read.

"I didn't mean to cause you any trouble, but I had to speak to you immediately," spoke Celestia, recalling that she had magically teleported Twilight to the castle in order to speak to her as soon as possible, and save hours of time traveling on Twilight's part as well.

"Oh it was no problem, I'm just curious as to why."

The Princess sighed and put the paper down. "Sit down, Twilight." The Princess motioned to a seat nearby.

"I'm aware I've only recently sent you to study and find out how ponies interact with humans, but I'm afraid I might have to cut your research short."

Twilight gasped, and took a moment to ponder this. Before she could ask why, the Princess was speaking again.

"Since we've established contact between here and earth, crime has risen in Equestria, as have murder rates, suicides, and misuse of magic. After very stable levels for hundreds of years, the complexities of human lives here, human technology, human businesses, haven't meshed as well as we thought they would. Hate crimes against ponies on earth are a large problem as well." The Princess sighed and took a deep breath before continuing, "This being said, I've decided to propose legislation to the Equestrian-Earth Council to attempt to end interaction, including traveling of ponies and people in between the two worlds, at least until we can figure out a solution to this problem."

Twilight was shocked. "But there's so much to learn from humans. They have great history, business, and technology we've never been able to produce-"

"-or ever needed" interrupted the Princess. "In short, neither race in reliant on each other, and because of this, I've decided it is in Equestria's best interests to close our borders."

Twilight gaped at the Princess, unsure of what to say. Realizing that her mouth was open, she closed it, only to open it again to speak.

"But what about all the ponies currently living on Earth? Or all the people living here in Equestria?"

The Princess got up from her desk, "There's no perfect solution, but it has to be done. They'll have time to decide where to live, but where they choose to live will be their home for decades, maybe even centuries."

Twilight walked over to the papers she had glanced at on Celestia's desk. Statistics clearly showed that for whatever reason, humans didn't mesh with life in Equestria. She turned to the Princess.

"So why not just kick every human out of Equestria, why leave ponies on earth?"

"Because ultimately, they can make decisions for themselves, and have a right to choose to live which place they prefer, and be with those that they prefer, or love."

Twilight pondered over all this for a moment, staring at the paper in front of her.

"How long until you think the portals will be shut down?" Twilight asked.

"A couple months, potentially at the end of this year."

"So that's about two months for ponies and people to decide where they want to be?"

Celestia shook her head. "Not quite. I don't imagine that the news will be released until about a month prior. There's a lot that needs to be worked out first. Please, Twilight, it's important that no one finds out until then."

"Very well. I'll be returning to Equestria as soon as the announcement is made, I suppose."

Celestia smiled. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything, and that your friends on Earth understand your absence. It was very important that I talked to you today."

Twilight smiled back, "Of course. They were absent when you teleported me, but I left a note for them." She smiled, remembering the advice she gave to Fluttershy on the back on the note, knowing she would be the first to enter, as Drew would hold the door open for her. Hopefully it helped Fluttershy, and Twilight would have to spend a little extra time away from the apartment, perhaps gathering some reading material or visiting places here in Canterlot.

"You have very understanding friends. Still, I won't keep you from them any long, Twilight. I still expect a bit of research on Human-Pony interactions, due whenever you return."

Before Twilight had a chance to speak, the Princess rose to cast a teleportation spell, returning her to where she had initially been teleported from.

***

You ran your hand through Fluttershy's soft mane again, happy to be holding her. Despite the confusion of first dates in Equestria, the both of you had decided that since you were on Earth, and this was a unique circumstance, you could develop a slower, more paced method of dating. That hadn't stopped the two of you from spending the majority of the afternoon kissing on your couch. You looked at the gorgeous pony you were with and smiled, happy that she was here with you, and kissed her once more, softly.

You hear someone fumbling with the doorknob and sit up straight, innocently flipping on the T.V. You extend one arm around Fluttershy. Twilight enters the room.

"Hey guys. Sorry about returning a little bit earlier than expected." She sees the two of you settled together on the couch, and smiles a bit. "I'll just go to my room, I've got some things to finish up for Celestia anyways."

You pick up the remote as Twilight exits the room, turning off the T.V. and returning your attention to the gorgeous mare in your arms. You smile and consider kissing her, but are happy to gaze into her eyes and play with her mane as she folds her wing across your chest, smiling. If you had told yourself a few months ago you'd be cuddling a pony right now, you wouldn't have believed it. Still, with her sitting next to you, the warmth of her body on your side and her wing covering your chest, you couldn't quite explain it, but everything just felt... good.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading! It feels good to be back writing! Please post comments below!
~Uke-Joe

Chapter 6

Uke-Joe

Pillows are great, and they had been and always would be your favorite sleeping accessory. Your pillow at the apartment was a feather pillow, and of course you slept with it every night. However, in the case of most feather pillows, one did not simply find a pile of feathers and sleep on it. There were layers of cloth, fabric, and whatever else pillow cases had in them resting between one you and your wonderfully plush pile of feathers.

So naturally, when you first awoke to a face full of feathers, you would have appreciated a similar comfort. What made it odd was that these feathers were neat, straightened out, and organized. This didn't matter enough to deter you from going back to sleep, however. You fluff your pillow and attempt to go back to sleep.

A similarly feathered surface greets your face as you attempt to return to sleep. You smile and curl up under your blanket, arm draped over your lovely pillow.

“Drew,” a quiet voice says, and interrupts your sleep, “Um- if you don't mind me asking... What are you doing?”

You grunt out a drowsy response, “Go back to sleep Flutters, it's too early.” A glance at the nearby alarm clock confirms that it is early, 6:00 in the morning.

A moment of silence passes, and you shut your eyes. You begin to feel yourself sink back into the wonderful depths of sleep, only to be interrupted again.

“Drew,” Fluttershy began, “Are you using me as a pillow?”

Your eyes snap back open as her sentence is processed in your head. You began to become more aware of your surroundings. Your drowsiness faded as you realized that this isn't a pillow, this is a Fluttershy. You were spread out across the majority of the bed, one arm lying across Fluttershy and your head and neck resting on her side. In the middle of the night, you must have shifted positions so that you were now facing the same way Fluttershy was. You quickly scrambled out of bed.

“Oh, well, the cot never got here-” you begin to explain. Fluttershy turns to face you, but once looking at you, she squeals and looks away, clearly embarrassed by something.

“Alrighty then...” Standing in your typical sleeping wear, a pair of boxers and a tee-shirt, the somewhat chilly air reminds you that you should probably get dressed for the day. It wasn't like you could go back to bed now even if you wanted, after being shocked awake by that. You walk over into the bathroom. While relieving yourself of the sodas you had accompanied your delicious pizza with, you realize why Fluttershy had suddenly gotten so embarrassed. Your stomach rumbling at the reminder of last nights pizza cuts off any further thought, however, and you dress and make your way down to the lobby for the complimentary breakfast. The cot had been place right next to your door. You make a note to wheel it in when you return.

Not normally a breakfast person, you grab the last muffin that is in the container. A gray pony that had been approaching the muffins stops and looks saddened, so you hand her your muffin and smile.

“Drew Smith, what a neighborly fellow,” a familiar voice speaks as a gray mare runs off with her muffin. You grab a donut from the nearby case before turning around and answering.

“Whatcha doin' Willis?” you respond to Mark.

“Nothing much. Woke up early so I thought I'd go eat something.”

“Fair enough.” You take your donut and join Mark at a table.

“So how was last night, man?” he asks.

“Uneventful,” you lie, hoping not to have to explain your awkward situation to Mark, knowing he would eventually harass you about it for the rest of the day.

“You sure about that? 'Cause your hair begs to differ...” He points upwards. You brush your head and find some yellow under-feathers within. You sigh and begin to explain to an already grinning Mark.

“So, Fluttershy accidentally booked a room that only had one bed. I tried getting a cot but fell asleep before it got to my room. I woke up using Fluttershy as a pillow.”

“A likely story.” Mark winks, “Kidding man, who doesn't want to sleep with them sexy ponies?”

A person sitting at the table behind Mark looks towards you, disgusted, but you ignored it and resumed your conversation.

“At any rate, ponies tend to be pretty understanding and accepting of things, so I doubt Fluttershy won’t mind too much.” Mark chuckles, “Heh- when I first did it with Cool Breeze, I messed up so much, different cultures and all. But in the end she ended up-”

At this, the person who had just given you a disgusted look, a grumpy wrinkly man within his fifties most likely, had interrupted Mark.

“I don't need any more talk of your disgusting horse fucking ways. Not here. Go back to Equestria where the rest of you horse lovers end up.” His voice was stern and demanding.

You wanted to say something, but Mark gave you a look as if to tell you to let it go. You realize he was probably right, that getting in an argument with this guy would get you nowhere. Mark wasn't the type of guy to get upset anyway. In response you followed him as he left.

“Mark-” you said as he entered the elevator, pressing the button to his floor number, not really giving you the opportunity to finish.

“There's a reason I moved to Equestria. I met Cool Breeze over the summer here. Some people here are cool with pony-human relationships; but then there's that type of guy.”

“But still, if he was talking to me-” You tried to compensate.

“You would have walked away. Imagine if you and Fluttershy were together, you wouldn't want to stop and take the time to fight everyone that came up to you and called you a zoo-sexual. It would probably frighten Fluttershy for one, and also drop an assault charge on you. I could have sat there and explained to him that my girlfriend has a great job, great ass, and is incredibly smart and totally sentient. But it wouldn't have mattered to him; he just doesn’t want to take the time to think about it. ”

He was right, of course. Walking away from fights had always been Mark's style, not that he had really ever been inflammatory enough to anyone to make them want to fight him. The elevator door slowly opened at his floor.

“I guess you're right. Just one question.” You held the elevator door so it didn’t close. “Why would you think about me and Fluttershy like that?”

He smiled as he answered, “Let's face it Drew, who gets a room with one bed by accident?” He chuckled, “There are barely any of those in this hotel. The process of reserving hotel rooms isn't that different from here to Equestria.”

He stepped away from the door, and you let it close. You press the number for your floor and grinned at his joke. Mark was always a pretty easy going guy.

Upon entering the room, you see Fluttershy was still sleeping. You take the opportunity to go shower. A few more feathers were washed out of your hair. By the time you walk out of the shower it was 8:00 and Fluttershy still hasn't woken up. You pulled out your laptop and logged onto Facebook.

Andrew Smith: In Chicago. Any suggestions on what to do today? Visited Aquarium already.

Scrolling through your friends statuses, you found absolutely nothing interesting. Of course, Abbotsville was not an exciting place; so it was no surprise. You clicked on the notification that appeared.

Rainbow Dash: Hey Fluttershy is supposed to be meeting us today! Come along with her!

You responded to Rainbow with a chat message.

Andrew Smith: Where and when? Should Fluttershy be up getting ready yet, because she's still sleeping.

Rainbow Dash: Navy Pier, and about an hour. Wake her up and remind her would ya?

Andrew Smith: Sure, I'll probably tag along. It'll be cool to meet Fluttershy's friends

Rainbow Dash: Haha, yeah we are pretty awesome! From what Fluttershy's told us you're an alright guy too, so it'll be fun to have ya along.

Andrew Smith: An 'alright guy'. What a stunning review

Rainbow Dash: Okay so she thinks you're a pretty cool guy actually. Just wake her up! We'll meet you over there okay?

Andrew Smith: Sure thing. Later.

You shut your laptop and walked over to Fluttershy. Unsure of how to wake her, you decide to shake her. She remained peacefully sleeping. You shook her a little harder, but again she kept sleeping. Since it worked so well last time you woke her up, you attempt to fluff her once again, like she was an oversized pony shaped pillow. You take a step back as she wakes up. She gave a cute little yawn and stretched, oblivious to your presence.

“Hey Fluttershy,” you began, somewhat startling her.

“Oh, hello, Drew,” she replied with a squeak.

“Rainbow told me to wake you up because you're supposed to be meeting her and some friends in an hour.” A smile had appeared on your face.

She looked at the nearby alarm clock, and leaped out of bed, dashing for the bathroom. You called out to her.

“Wait, I wanted to say something about this morning!”

She pauses at the doorway in the bathroom, “Oh, I'm sorry for invading your privacy Drew, it won't happen again.” She scampered over to the bathroom and started the shower.

Whatever she meant by her invading your privacy, it didn't particularly matter to you. Mark was right, ponies were pretty easy going. Lacking anyone to talk to, you pull out your phone and start throwing birds at pigs. After a few unfruitful attempts at completing a level, you rage quit and delete the game from your phone. Fluttershy wouldn't approve of the animal cruelty anyways.

By the time Fluttershy exited the shower and had gotten ready, you had barely 20 minutes to meet up with her friends. You and Fluttershy walk out and down the stairs to the lobby.

“Fluttershy, if you don't dry off your coat is going to get all windblown and...” you search for a specific word, “fluffy”. You held the door out for her to exit the hotel.

“Oh, I know, but I can't let my friends down. I told them I would be there. I'll just hope there's no wind today.” She sounded determined.

As you stepped outside, the windy city lived up to its name. “Sorry Flutters...”

You escaped from the rushing wind onto a bus and wait for it to stop nearby Navy Pier. With a short hike you reach the entrance where a group of multicolored ponies were waiting. Judging by Fluttershy's reaction, her simply leaping up and flying towards them, you assume that these are her very close friends. By the time you reach them, Fluttershy was excitedly introducing you to all of her friends.

“Drew this is Twilight, Pinkie, Rainbow, Rarity, and Applejack.” Only Applejack is a new face, the rest you have seen on either Facebook or when Fluttershy would be Skyping with them. You lightly waved to the group.

“Wow it's so good to meet you, Drew! I can already tell we're going to be best of friends!” Pinkie Pie crushes the chance for anyone else to talk to you by rambling on and on about how great friends the both of you would be. Looking at Fluttershy's friends, they all mouth, “It's just Pinkie," and begin walking towards all the attractions. You followed them, smiling and nodding at everything that the bouncing pink mare said.

“...And that's how Equestria was made!” Pinkie screamed just as you reach the rest of the group of ponies. They didn't take very long trying out everything they ran across. Twilight justified spending obscene amounts of money on all sorts of attractions because she needed to “gather information on a new culture," but clearly everyone was having a good time. Twilight apparently received a very large allowance from her mentor that which she was expected to spend on this trip, so she was more than glad to treat everyone to lunch.

Although you were craving something with meat, you didn't want to offend anypony. Apparently, fish were an exception to this rule, so you ordered shrimp as did Pinkie. The group took this opportunity to question you.

“So Drew, where are you from?” asks Rarity.

You put down your soda, swallowing a gulp, “A bit of everywhere. For a year or two I lived just an hour or so away from here. I moved around a lot as a kid.”

“That must have made it hard to make many friends,” says Twilight.

You thought about this, “I guess Mark was the friend that I'd had for the longest really. We had been roommates for two years after all. But in general moving often kinda sucked.”

“Also must have made it hard to find a special somepony...” mutters Rainbow.

“Rainbow!” exclaims Rarity.

Assuming this was something or someone similar to a special somebody, you just kept quiet. In all your years of high school and college you had never had a girlfriend, not that you had ever particularly minded or developed actual feelings for any girl. It was just something that didn't cross your mind very often.

Twilight decided now would be a good time to change the subject. “So Fluttershy, how is school?”

“Oh it's really great! Life at Abbotsville is nice and quiet.”

The conversation headed more towards what Fluttershy was doing than about you. After lunch, you decided you needed a nap, and couldn't go on. The ponies all said goodbye and you told Twilight to call you when they were leaving so Fluttershy wouldn't get lost taking the bus back to the hotel.

***

At four in the afternoon you rose from the bed, still unable to sleep. Until Twilight called, you walked around town aimlessly taking the bus from place to place. You snapped a few photos to add to your Facebook album, but really didn't go to anywhere special. Twilight called around 8 PM in which that they were most likely heading out soon, so you hopped on a bus and met Fluttershy there. You arrived back at the hotel at about 9ish.

“So Flutters, how was your day with your friends?” you inquired.

“It was fun, they all missed me; but Twilight said she might be staying on Earth for a bit longer than expected. So she would be glad to meet up with us again sometime,” Fluttershy responded.

“Oh really? What's she doing?”

“Well, she's supposed to take notes on how ponies are adapting to life on earth and how humans react to ponies.”

You respond as you open up the cot, “That's interesting, w-”

You freeze mid sentence.

“Oh, yes! I was hoping that, if you didn't mind, she could- EEP!”

Inside your cot was a family of spiders, all milling about the covers. Slightly less than 10 seconds later, the cot had been cleared from the room. Unfortunately, that also meant your chances of a good night's rest were out the door. You began to settle with the idea of sleeping on the floor when Fluttershy spoke up.

“Um, if you don't want to sleep on the floor, you don't have to...”

“Thanks Flutters, but I'm not going to kick you off your bed.”

She paused before responding, “Actually, you could sleep on one side if you wanted, I mean...” she said.

You considered her offer. “You sure you don't mind?”

“I just don't want you to be sleepy all of tomorrow,” says Fluttershy

You situated yourself on the side of the bed next to the wall as Fluttershy got ready for bed. You flinched as she got into bed, hoping for no more awkward scenarios. You bumped your head against the backboard whilst trying to give Fluttershy some space.

“Drew, you don't have to give me all the bed... You’re bigger than me...”

You turned around and moved to what feels like a few inches away from the wall. The bed creaked and Fluttershy moved a little bit closer to you. You were startled at how close she was, your heart moving faster than a race horse.

“Hey Drew?” she asks.

“Yeah Flutters?”

“Thanks for bringing me around today. Cities are a little.... scary.”

“Not a problem,” you reply. A moment of silence passes.

“Hey Drew?”

“Yeah Flutters?”

She closed the distance kissing you on the cheek. She moved back slightly. “Good night Drew.”

“...Good night Flutters.”