You've Come To The Right Neighborhood

Spike bit back a wince when his side once again protested a little at his standing up, doing his best to stretch. Fluttershy had left about half an hour ago to get her friends, so he figured he'd look around a little in the meantime. As he did, he was greeted by several of the animals that made their homes in the small hutches and burrows that dotted the house and area around.

She'd mentioned during their talk that she looked after various animals, but he didn't know just how many until a group of birds, mice, squirrels, and even a couple of otters came bounding in to check out the 'new guy'. They didn't seem to mind him...well except for a rabbit with a bit of a snotty attitude named Angel, who wasted no time in letting Spike know he wanted him gone once he was awake.

After the furball tried to threaten him to get out with a rock, he decided to be get evil and simply told Angel about the rabbit and mushroom lasagna his grandma used to make on special occasions. "And I still remember the recipe; take one medium sized rabbit, properly skinned and dressed, using a sharp knife, cut the meat away from the bone..."

That was the first time he ever saw a rabbit blanch before it hightailed it out of the room.

"Too bad you guys can't give me a little more info about this place." He said to the two ferrets hanging around his feet, "Aside from what Fluttershy's told me, I have no clue what's going to happen."

They simply looked up at him and scurried over to a nearby chair.

"Heh. Yeah, maybe I should just relax. I can probably get a better idea of things once Fluttershy's friends arrive." Having them nod in response wasn't quite what he expected, "Curiouser and curiouser..." He mused, before giving himself a once-over in the mirror.

As many times as he'd asked his parents and the doctors he visited over the years, none of them could come up with a valid explanation as why to his hair and eyes shared the same jade green tone, or why he had green hair anyway, for that matter; though now, his hair had noticeable purple highlights as well. In the end, they attributed it to a recessive gene from somewhere down the line that'd decided to behave oddly. That hair now currently sat on his head as a spiky mop, somewhat framing a slightly skinny-looking face.

He ran a thumb over a two-inch scar beside his right eye; the aftermath of his aunt's overly-pampered cat deciding it needed to show him who was boss when he was twelve. He'd gotten banned from the woman's house permanently after duct taping the little bastard to the wall as payback.

Coupled with a six-foot-three, hundred-ninety pound frame-he wasn't scrawny, per se, but 'muscular' was definitely not a fitting adjective for him- that was currently still decorated with bandages and a more than a few bruises, 'a mess' was probably the only way he could describe himself at the moment.

That brought up more than a few questions as well; while Fluttershy was nice enough, how would her friends react to seeing him? Would they be as amiable as her? Or would they be freaked out? How would other ponies, or anyone else that lived in town for that matter, respond?

He stepped over to the foot of the bed where his satchel lay. Thankfully, he'd had it with him when he was yanked to this world. Fluttershy mentioned locating it not too far from where she found him, 'Need to thank her for finding this.' Opening it, he pulled out his wallet and looked at the few dollars he had...though it was probably all useless here, especially since he had no idea what their monetary system was.

Which meant, depending on how long he was here, he'd have to get a job. What kind of jobs did they have here anyway? Would he even qualify for one?

He sighed and shook his head. Worrying about all that wasn't going to help things; if things went south...well, maybe becoming a wanderer wouldn't be too bad. Quick search of his bag showed everything was still in it; compass, a small telescope, his MP3 player with a spare battery, extra notebook, sketchpad...

"Spike? Are you in here?" Fluttershy's voice called out from the front door, quickly getting his attention.

"Yeah. Just a second, Fluttershy." He replied, "Just making sure I hadn't lost anything." He went into the living room to find her carrying his clothes. However, he froze briefly at what she was wearing...or, what she wasn't. Instead of the apron, she had on slippers, along with a pair of light green stockings that went to her upper thighs, and nothing else.

Granted, she DID look nice in them, but still...why was that all she had on if she'd gone to get her friends...? He fought back the slightly confused sigh and decided he'd see if he could ask about it later. At least, once he found out how to without sounding like a prudish jerk.

And once he was able to not stare.

"Rarity was a little surprised when I brought your clothes in, mostly by the size and how much material there was." She said, handing them to him, "Um...I'm afraid she's made it her mission to put you in some, as she put it, 'higher fashion' after seeing what your shirt is made of." She looked at him, her cheeks pinking in embarrassment, "She's not a fan of canvas."

"Thanks." He looked at the long-sleeve shirt in his hand, a few barely visible stitches marked where rips had been mended. Pretty expertly, too. The shredded cuffs on his jeans had been repaired as well. He was about to tell her it wasn't necessary, but one set of clothes would only last so long, "Well, I guess a few extra won't hurt."

She headed back out to let him get dressed. It was then that he heard a few other voices outside.

"Are we sure we can trust this guy?" One spoke up. It was raspy and a little gruff, but still noticeably female, "I mean, how do we know this ain't a rogue Changeling setting up a trap or something?"

"Judging from how Fluttershy found him, it doesn't seem like something a Changeling would go through the trouble to stage, Rainbow. Especially if it leaves them unconscious and injured like that." This voice was a little harder to describe; the only way Spike could put it was having a 'girl-next-door' feel, "Besides, you saw those clothes. Not only would Changelings not bother with that, they can't imitate anything larger than their natural size. If those are any indicator, this individual is as tall as Celestia!"

"What if it's Chrysalis? Ah wouldn't put it past that double-dealin' bug to try somethin' if it got her some payback." Spike couldn't resist smiling at the southern twang in that new one. He'd always had a bit of a soft spot for a country gal voice.

"He...he's a not a changeling..." Fluttershy spoke up. He could damn near hear the blush in her voice, "Twilight, you said Changelings don't put out much body heat?"

"Pretty much, Thorax says their outer coverings provide good insulation." The 'girl-next-door' voice replied.

'Ok, so that's this Princess Twilight Sparkle. At least that's one name.' He thought, getting his shirt buttoned up.

"Well...he...he was too warm when I slept with him."

Spike felt his face heat up a bit remembering that; he'd planned to move over to the couch to sleep when he stopping hurting too much to move, but she wasn't hearing it.

"You what!?" The tomboy rasp-Rainbow, he was guessing-shouted, "Fluttershy, you just met him!"

"He was going to go sleep on the couch when he could move again...!" She retorted, though with a bit of a whimper in her voice, "I couldn't let him try that while he was still hurt, and the bed was big enough to share...and he was comfy..."

"Ah...so you just 'slept'...not..." This new voice had an air of poshness to it; Spike had a feeling this one liked to hobnob. He didn't catch what Fluttershy's response was aside from a squeak, but it seemed safe to assume she figured out what they were referring to.

Spike did the same, given how red his face was at the moment.

"Um...maybe I better go help her out." He said, now fully dressed. It took him a moment to cross the room, but that gave him time to notice the height difference before cracking his forehead on the door frame, as well as fight down the blush. The creak of it opening was enough to get the attention of the group out there.

"So..." He spoke up, wincing a little at the still lingering soreness, "I think this where I say either 'I come in peace', or 'klatuu bavarian taco'."

One of the other ponies, a bright pink one with an equally pink, and very floofy, mane promptly raised a hand, "Oh! How about 'Baa Weep Grahna Weep Ninny Bong'?"

He grinned and chuckled, "While a good one, I don't have any treats to offer." His grin widened a little when the others seemed surprised that he actually comprehended it, 'Maybe this won't be so bad...'"