Chapters You're New To Equestria, Arent'cha?
It was a beautiful day outside. Birds were singing, flowers where blooming. On day's like these, Fluttershy could think of nothing she would rather do than tend to her animals and soak in the wonderful midday sun. She hummed a nameless tune as she went about her day, a sprinkling of birdseed for the bluejays, some fish for the otter family, and so on. Each gave their thanks to her in turn, and she returned it with a warm smile and a gentle nod.
A wonderful day indeed. Nothing could ruin this perfect tranquility.
*POP*
"Waaa-OOF!"
The perfect tranquility of the moment was cut short by a startled cry, immediately followed by the sound of a sudden impact. Fluttershy jumped with a yelp of surprise, bolting behind the small bale of hay she had just delivered to her goat friend. Chester himself seemed uninterested in the noise, very nearly taking a bite of her tail as she peaked out from behind his lunch.
The rest of the animals had reacted similarly to her at the noise, but after a moment of inactivity, decided it was nothing of importance, and carried on with their meals. Fluttershy on the other hoof did not move from her hiding spot for several more long seconds, her nervous gaze never leaving the corner of her house around which the sudden disturbance had come from. It was not till another noise came to her ears that she made any movement to investigate.
"Oooh... Ouch..."
Fluttershy let herself relax a little at that. That was not the sound of a scary monster, or a grumpy pony. That sounded like a foal, and a hurt one at that. Perhaps one of the pegesi students from the school had had a rough landing coming to her with questions? Her fear forgotten at the thought of somepony injuring themselves on her property, the yellow mare quickly got up and trotted her way around the house to investigate.
What she saw there surprised her. It was not a pegasus, nor indeed any species that she could say was currently attending the school. Instead what lay in her flowerbed was a small, bipedal creature. It did not have much exposed skin to speak of, wearing many pieces of clothing, but from what she could see it was largely hairless, its skin a warm tan color. The exception to that was the long brown mane sitting atop its head, obscuring the rest of its face as it lay face first in the daisies.
She confirmed with herself that it was indeed not a creature she had ever seen before, but something about it was familiar to her. Perhaps she had read about it somewhere, or heard of it from some-...
"Human," she said quietly, remembering Twilight's description of the strange creatures from beyond the magic mirror in her castle. She had talked in enough detail about them that Fluttershy was now confident that was what this was. A human child had apparently fallen from the sky into her front lawn!
The sound of her voice apparently roused the small child from its stupor as it gave another small groan, moving its arms under it to lift itself from the flowerbed.
"M... Mom?" It asked quietly, its eyes still closed as it shook its head free of bright yellow petals. "Mom what happened to-"
Finally opening their eyes, the human child greeted Fluttershy with rich, expressive brown eyes. There was also a small cut on their cheek, a small amount of blood dripping from it. Immediately their eyes widened and they sat up on their knees in surprise at the pony standing before them, very obviously not the parent they thought they where talking to.
The worry in those eyes brought Fluttershy back to the present, and she slowly approached the fallen child.
"Oh, you've fallen down, haven't you?"
The child's eyes widened even further at that, as if it had not expected her to talk.
'Of course,' Fluttershy thought. 'I'f I haven't seen a human before, it's entirely possible they have never seen a pony before. But where did they come from then?'
"W-What kind of monster are you?" The child asked quietly, causing Fluttershy to recoil in surprise. Monster? What their something monstrous about her appearance to them? She hadn't meant to scare them! She hid herself slightly behind her mane as she one had oft done not so long ago.
"I-I'm not a monster, I'm a pony. Have... Have you never meet a pony before?" The shook their head. "That's okay, I've never meet a human before either. I have friends that have before though. I'm sorry that I scared you..."
The child's face brightened at that, grinning up at her and shaking their head slightly.
"Oh no, you didn't scare me, I just... I wasn't expecting to meet anyone today."
"Then... then if I didn't scare you, why did you call me a... a monster?"
Her companion cocked their head, confused.
"Yyyou mean your NOT a monster? Aren't pony's a type of monster?"
"N-No... at least, I don't think so..."
The two took a moment just to look at each other, taking in the moment and trying to process what was happening. The blood dripping from the child's cut had now reached their chin, and Fluttershy's wings shifted nervously at the sight of it.
"Oh dear. We should probably get that cleaned up before it gets infected. I have bandages inside we could cover it with as well. Would... would you mind coming in so I can work on it? You can tell me how you got here while I do."
The human's grin broadened into a full smile at that, and they nodded, standing up to their full height to follow inside. They could only be slightly taller than Spike, perhaps Smolders size. "Thank you miss... Um..."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I never introduced myself." Fluttershy reached her hoof out, familiar with how dragons and other digit-ed creatures would greet each other. "My name is Fluttershy."
Quickly brushing some stray petals off their blue and purple striped sweater, the human child took the offered hoof, the smile never leaving their face.
"My name is Frisk!"
Should Have Taken The Scenic Rout...
"SANS! HURRY UP, FRISK AND MISS TORIEL ARE ALREADY LATE AS IT IS! THEY DO NOT NEED YOUR LAZY BONES MAKING THINGS EVEN WORSE!"
The skeleton in question merely chuckled to himself and casually slid into his signature bright pink slippers.
"be down in just a sec bro. i'll get them there in time, try tabia little more relaxed."
"SANS!"
Grabbing his favorite hoodie, Sans chuckled again to himself as he stepped out of his room and into the hallway, making his way to the stairs. Zipping it up and stowing his hands in their proper pockets, he made his way down into the living room, were the others where waiting for him.
"THERE YOU ARE BROTHER! FINALLY, I WAS ABOUT READY TO MAKE MY WAY UP THERE AND DRAG YOU OUT MYSELF!" Papyrus scolded, sporting a super cool toque and waving a ladle at his brother from over the dinning counter.
Toriel chuckled at the brother's antics and shook her head and adjusted the purse draped there.
"Now, now. There is no need for that. if what Frisk has told me about Sans' 'shortcuts' is true, we still have plenty of time to get the the school before classes start." Her smile faded slightly, looking back at the source of the delay. Frisk was busying themselves with tying their shoelaces by the door. Sitting next to them was a backpack, which currently held three homework assignments, two notebook, four pencils, and one extremely grumpy flower.
"Are you... sure that Flowey is ready to join you at school, Frisk? I am more than happy to continue with our after school lessons if he would be more comfortable that way..."
Flowey scoffed at Toriel's offer and rolled his eyes.
"Of COURSE I don't want to go to your stupid school, you dumb-"
"Hmmm!" Frisk sounded warningly, arching an eyebrow at the belligerent flower, cutting his insult short. Flowey turned his attention away from Toriel and glared back at them, and the rest of the room could almost see the two testing their wills against one another. The tension lasted for a few more second, before Flowey's eyes lost their fire, and he lowered his head, sighing.
"Sorry M... Miss Toriel. Frisk is right, I... I should go. I need to..." He looked over at Frisk out of the corner of his eye. "... 'Learn to play well with others.' Learning everything by myself isn't going to help me handle people."
Toriel looked between her two charges, recognizing there must have been a conversation she was not privy too before all this. Still, if Frisk had convinced Flowey to go along with it, than it was not of her concern.
Frisk smiled gently at Flowey and reached out to pat him on the head. The flower retreated from the hand, giving a death glare to its owner.
"Touch me and I'll hurt you!"
The smile was replaced by a sad frown, and Frisk withdrew, opting instead to carefully pick up the pack and put it on. Checking themselves over one more time, the human looked up to their adoptive mother and gave a small nod.
"... Alright then, if you two are quite certain, I suppose there is no further reason to delay. Just... be good, wont you dear?"
Flowey rolled his eyes again at her request, making his disgust known. "Uuugh. Yeees Mo- " His attitude suddenly disappeared, and was instead replaced with a look similar to the one Frisk was wearing. "... Y-Yes Mam."
Toriel watched the two for a moment longer, trying to piece together what had just happened. She had just about as much success as usual. Frisk was a sweet child, always so eager to help, so tender with everyone they met, monster or human. Flowey, for all his faults, truly did seem to be trying to fit in, even if he was so short with people most times. It was such a shame then that to her they sometimes seemed so... sad. Haunted even.
Frisk was the best example of this, always apologizing for things out of their control, hiding their face whenever she looked at them too long. Often Toriel would wake to the child crawling their way into her bed after some unshared nightmare or staring off into the distance with a depressed look. They tried to hide it, presenting a happy, cheerful child with a flirtatious attitude most days, but it was clear to the boss monster that it was a front. The real Frisk, the Frisk she saw under it all, was sad and lonely child, and it hurt her to see.
Flowey was more of a mystery. Frisk had insisted on a trip back up the mountain one day soon after they had settled into their new home, and upon returning had been carrying with them the strange talking flower in a clay pot. When asked, Frisk had simply told her that Flowey was a friend, and one that needed their help.
Toriel had not been able to get Flowey to look directly at her for days after his arrival, and he was exceedingly quiet most of the time. He never talked about his past, and when he did speak it was generally short and angry. The only person he seemed to listen to was Frisk, and when the child was in one of their moods a understanding, if not so much caring attitude would befall the flower, as he would stay by his friend and simply offer support as he could. It was the only show of compassion she could recall the flower expressing to another. Still, there where moments when she would catch him looking at her when she was otherwise busy, or cutting off his threats and insults abruptly when talking with her. It had made her nervous at first, but now, she was only curious.
Their was something they where hiding, both of them. They shared a secret that obviously left the both of them still hurt from the memory, but try as she might, she could not get them to share what it was. As a mother and caretaker, it hurt her to be so useless, and apparently untrusted.
Still, she would not give up. She promised Frisk that she would be there for them as long as they needed, and she did not intend to break that promise. She would do her best to care for the two of them, until hopefully some day, they would open up to her about what it was that caused them such pain.
Shaking her head from the melancholy of her thoughts, Toriel put on a smile for the group and made her way to the door.
"Well! If everyone is ready to go, I think its time we make our way there now. Come along everyone."
Opening the door for the others, the goat monster let her wards and the shorter skeleton brother by before surrendering the door-frame to Papyrus, who stepped out of the kitchen to send them off.
Stopping on the front porch, Sans looked around at everyone with his trademark grin. "everyone ready?" he asked, receiving various confirmations from the party. "well then, guess we're off!"
"FAREWELL EVERYONE, HAVE A GREAT DAY AT SCHOOL! DO NOT WORRY SANS, I WILL BE SURE TO LEAVE SOME BREAKFAST OUT FOR YOUR RETURN! NO BROTHER OF MINE WILL GO HUNGRY ON MY WATCH! NYEHEHE!"
"thanks a million bro. udon't know how horrible the pastability of missing out on your cooking was. I was out of my noodle thinking about how your hard work would be al forno-thing !"
"SANS!"
"Trashbag!"
Sans, Frisk, and Toriel were too busy laughing to notice the ladel sail from Papyrus' hand towards his brother. Flowey, on the other hand, got a perfect view of what happened next.
The kitchen utensil flew true as it arched straight into the annoying comedian's head, knocking him off balance and causing his eyes to open wide in surprise. A flash of panic washed over Sans' face, and his hand became sheathed in an ethereal blue glow and he attempted to catch himself with it before it seeming vanished into thin air, quickly followed by the rest of him.
A flash of light came a moment before sudden nausea overtook Flowey, a kaleidoscope of colors entering his vision. His body, unfamiliar the to stress being applied to it, finally gave out, and Flowey found himself succumbing to darkness.
Author's Note
Hey guys. Sorry it took me so long to post this one, I KNOW I promised many of you that I would get this out by that first Sunday. Buuut life had other plans, and I went several days without wifi and then had to packing up my room and relocate, so things just didn't line up for that. Still, I hope you enjoy!
I make no further promises on the frequency or consistency of updates, but I do find myself deeply intrigued by this current project, and will continue to work on it for the foreseeable future. Hope you guys enjoy the ride!
'Pawsome' Place You Got Here!
"Ouch!"
Frisk flinched away from the cotton ball in Fluttershy's hooves as it came into contact with the cut, the alcohol in the small white ball stinging fiercely. Fluttershy pulled back and looked at the child apologetically.
"Sorry," she said softly, bringing the ball back to the wound gently. "It's small, but we don't want it getting worse. I'm almost finished with this, then I can apply the bandage."
Frisk nodded their head understandingly, steeling themselves and looking ahead with a determined expression. Fluttershy could still see the child peeking at the ball out of the corner of their eye however.
"Um... so your friend, uh... Sans. He's made a mistake with a teleportation spell? That's why you ended up here?"
"His shortcut, ya. I don't... I don't think it's actually teleporting though. I've asked him about it before, and he says it isn't the same. My other friend, Alphys, she had a machine that could teleport things short distances. She said that teleporting wasn't something monsters could do with magic, and that her machine needed to have two sides, an entrance and an exit to work." Frisk scrunched her nose a bit at a memory. "It didn't exactly work very well either. It was fine with small, non-living things. But when she put an apple in it kinda, um... exploded."
"E-E-Exploded?!" Fluttershy asked in shock. Frisk nodded in confirmation. "... The machine, or the fruit?"
"Yes."
"Oh my..."
"Yep. She's been bothering Sans about how he does what he does, but he doesn't give her a lot. I don't know if its because he doesn't know exactly how it works either, or if he is just messing with her. Probably the last one. It's hard to tell with him sometimes, even for me."
Not having any experience with this Sans, Fluttershy simply hummed her acknowledgement as she went about applying a bandage over the newly cleaned cut. The conversation had done its job of distracting the human, and they were now finished.
"Aaand done! That wasn't so bad, was it? How do you feel?"
Frisk's body visibly relaxed at knowing their treatment was over with, and after patting down the bandage for themselves, answered with a big grin and a thumbs up. Fluttershy smiled back and went about dealing with the supplies, packing away the first aid kit and throwing away the used cotton balls.
Frisk took the time to scoot themselves to the end of the table they were sitting on and jump down, taking a moment to look around the cottage now that their face was no longer being worked on.
It was a small place. Not much bigger than Undyne's old home back in the Undeground. It had a cozy feel to it, very natural and warm. It reminded Frisk of Home, back in the ruins. It just exuded this feeling of comfort and safety. The obvious difference between Fluttershy's house and the one in the ruins was the amount of inhabitants.
Frisk didn't need to ask to figure that their host was some form of vet or another. There were animals everywhere; birds, bunnies, mice, snakes. They were fairly certain that a bear had poked its head in to check on them earlier, wearing what looked like a shower cap strangely enough. And that rabbit lounging on the couch was definitely directing a stink eye Frisk's direction. It was all so strange, like falling into a fairy-tale.
Though considering the last couple months, perhaps that was exactly what had happened. Life had gotten weird since that fateful trip up Mount Ebott.
Actually, on second thought, maybe it was more like an anime...
Shaking their head, Frisk decided it was time to focus. As nice as Miss Fluttershy was, they was already late for school, and no doubt Mom was probably worried sick about them. Not to mention not having an eye on Flowey was just a little nerve wracking.
Considering the likelihood that this entire trip was an accident, Frisk really didn't have any reference to go off of. The only thing that came to mind was the advice Toriel always gave them when they went out on their own.
'If you ever get lost, find the nearest officer or police station and I will come to get you.'
"Thanks for helping me Miss Fluttershy! I should probably starting looking for the others so we can get back home. Is there a police station nearby where I could get help looking for my friends?"
"Police station? You mean like in Manehattan?"
Frisks blinked a couple of times, trying very hard not to appear like they where staring. They only let the confusion stop them for a moment longer before continuing.
"Ya... something like that."
"Oh I'm sorry. Ponyville is a little small for something like that. Normally when something happens around here that needs the Royal Guard, the mayors office deals with it. Unless its an emergency, like missing ponies or a monster... I mean, creature attack. Sorry, that word doesn't really mean the same thing where you come from does it? I didn't mean to sound offensive..."
Frisk simply waved her off.
"No, it's fine. Lots of people still make the same mistake back home. Humans are still pretty new to the whole 'monsters are real' thing."
"Really? Why is that? Did they go somewhere?"
That was a long, complicated story. If Frisk took the time to explain everything, they would probably be here all day. At the very least they needed to multitask.
"Sorry, but you said there was someplace else to go in case of emergencies? Do you mind if I tell you on the way there?"
"Oh yes, right! Most of the time if there is an emergency, my friends deal with it. Twilight an expert on magic, and she's also a princess. If anyone can help you, it's probably her! I can take you to her castle and we can talk on the way, if you don't mind."
They were going to go get help from a magical pony princess living in a castle? This day just kept getting more and more fantastic. Fighting down a snicker, Frisk nodded their agreement and watched as Fluttershy excused herself to prepare to leave the house. After quickly checking on some of her animal friends, the pegasus approached the angry looking rabbit and apparently told them they were to be in charge till she got back.
The critter gave a tight salute of all things, before turning around and bouncing into the next room like a coney on a mission. Did that thing understand what she had said? Were rabbits sentient here, wherever in the world 'here' was?
These quiet musings were interrupted when Fluttershy passed by on the way to the door, opening it for her guest and waving the human child outside. Frisk accepted with a smile, making their way outside as the mare locked the door behind them.
It was then that Frisk got their first good look at the area. All the excitement of landing in a strange new land and being rushed in to be bandaged up had somewhat deprived them of a good scan of the area.
It really was like a fairy tale. Animals frolicked through the grassy fields, birds danced around the clear blue sky. A gentle river was crossed by a small stone bridge that led to what could only be Ponyville. Only the tallest buildings could be seen, but there were thatch roofs and not a hint of cement to be seen. It could not have possibly been any more storybook. Childish glee flowed through the human's body as the urge to get out and explore overtook them.
Seeing such a beautiful, Disney style scene presented before them filled Frisk will an all familiar feeling of Determination.
"Hundreds of years later, most people just thought monsters were myths. People chalked the mountain disappearances up to dangerous climbing conditions and most just decided to steer clear of it."
"But you didn't?"
Frisk blinked at the question before they gave a smirk and shrugged it off.
"What can I say? A mysterious mountain with a spooky history? It was just begging to be explored."
'Foals will be foals I guess,' Fluttershy thought to herself as the two of them made their way into Ponyville proper. Frisk had been explaining their reason why monster was such a controversial term back home. An entire species locked away under a mountain! It was an amazing story to be sure.
Opening her mouth to say something about the dangers of minors wandering the mountains alone, Fluttershy was stopped when she noticed the human was no longer beside her. Frisk had stopped short, and seemed to be staring at the nearby tree with frustration. Just as she was about to ask what was wrong, the look upon the child's face morphed into something different. The amount of soul crushing pain on the small human's face took Fluttershy aback, and she wondered what in the world could cause such a look. Approaching slowly, she gently lay a hoof on Frisk's shoulder.
"Frisk? Are you alright? What's wrong?"
The child flinched back at her touch, looking up at her with big, terrified eyes. They seemed to have forgotten where they were for a moment. Realization hit, and Frisk put on a shaky smile.
"S-Sorry! Sorry, I'm sorry for that!"
"Sorry? Sorry for what?"
"..."
"Frisk?"
The child did not respond, instead opting to wipe some moisture away from their eyes before reinforcing their smile to something more believable.
"A-Anyways, can we keep going? I'm really excited to see what Ponyville looks like!"
Fluttershy looked at the human for a moment longer with searching eyes, making her concern obvious, before gently nodding and carrying on down the path to town. Frisk visibly relaxed, glad the subject had been dropped. The pegasus wanted desperately to ask more on what had just happened, but she could not find it in herself to do it. They barely knew each other, and it was obvious that whatever it was that was going on was a personal matter. If Frisk did not want to share, Fluttershy had no right to press.
Silence reigned until they finally made it into town. Frisk's smile stopped being forced and took on a more earnest appearance as the thatch roof houses began to surround them on both sides and ponies of all kinds stopped to stare at the human in their midst.
Frisk, though, didn't seem to mind the attention. In fact, they seemed to thrive on it. Not in the same manner as Rainbow Dash might have, but for every pony that stopped to gawk at the unfamiliar creature walking down the main road, the human had a big grin and a wave to offer. Most recovered quickly and returned the gesture, having grown accustomed to strange creatures in town since the opening of the school. Maybe even a little before that, considering all the chaos that Ponyville seemed to attract.
Fluttershy could not understand how the human was taking this so well. They were in a unknown land, separated from their friends and family, being watched at every angle by ponies. If she were in their situation, Fluttershy would have likely run and hid by now. Just guiding Frisk through all this attention was nerve wracking enough!
Eventually, they came to stop in front of Castle Friendship. If Frisk could look any more excited, Fluttershy would be hard pressed to believe it. The wide-eyed joy and quiet sounds of wonder the child made at the sight of the crystal tree put a smile on her own face as well.
"This is where Twilight lives," she said, breaking Frisk out of their trance. "It's the weekend, so she should be home right now. It can get kind of confusing in here if you don't know you way around, so stay close please," Fluttershy said, letting herself in and ushering the human to follow. They happily obliged, content to continue ogling the building from the inside.
As they made their way down the hallway towards the library, the most likely hangout location for one particular purple pony, Frisk's head was on a swivel. Looking over here at the enchanted torches on the wall, over there at one of the decorative banners on the balcony. Everything was new and exciting to them, and Fluttershy thought it a miracle that they hadn't wandered off yet.
"YAAAH!"
*Vreee-BOOM!*
The duo jumped in surprise as the castle shook slightly, before looking at each other in concern. Fluttershy knew that voice, and though Frisk may be new to Equestria, they knew the sound of a fight when they heard it. A moment passed where both considered what to do, before more sounds came down the hall.
*Vreee-BOOM!*
The human paled, eyes widening at the noise. Frisk knew that noise.
Fluttershy watched in concern as the human began to shake, taking an uneasy step backwards. That concern turned to shock as a moment later the child seemed to find some inner resolve, before running down the hall the noises where coming from.
"F-Frisk?!"
The human paid no mind, continuing their charge down the hall and around the corner. Losing sight of the child proved the motivation she needed, and Fluttershy unfurled her wings and took off towards the fight as well. It was not a long ways to go. Around the corner was the entrance to the map room standing slightly ajar, and Fluttershy was just in time to see Frisk squeezing through. Putting on another burst of speed, Fluttershy made her way to the door before throwing it open, revealing a yet another unusual sight for the day.
Princess Twilight Sparkle, looking to her and the human with wide eyes, horn aglow. Spike was hiding behind Pinkie Pie's throne in horror at the center of the room. The object of his fear, a bubble shield of Twilight's making, floating over the map, containing what appeared to be a stout, HUMAN skeleton, wearing a dirty blue hoodie.
"SANS!" The human called out in concern. Then, much to Fluttershy's own horror, the skeleton MOVED. It turned, looking to the human child with an unnerving grin and two pinpricks for eyes in its sockets. A deep, distinctly male chuckle floated through the room as the skeleton took an all too casual pose for its current position. Leaning against the wall of the shield he was currently floating in, 'Sans' shoved one hand in his pocket, and threw a lazy wave Frisks direction with the other.
"heya kid, hows it hangin'?"
Author's Note
On top of the usual writers block and distractions of life, I spent several days wondering how Flowey can use magic without a soul, how he could feel any emotions at all without a soul and still lack compassion, and what would happen if he where dropped in a place (Like Equestria) that was permeated with magic. I then followed multiple links where people theorize he still has Chara's soul (Which I don't agree with), that he would slowly be regaining his soul due to a connection with Toriel and Asgore (Also unlikely, but plausible I guess), or that his dust somehow held part of his soul, which is slowly healing (Not better than the last couple theories IMO).
In the end, a theory that I ended up playing with is that the 'emotions' we see from Flowey in Undertale are intellectually based, and not from the heart. That is to say, they are reactions and responses that he KNOWS he should have from his past life, and he displays them as such. But love is something that cannot be faked or replicated, so he understands that their is something missing THERE, but not elsewhere.
Course, I don't know how well I even believe that. It's easy to explain away his murder spree's as boredom, but the sadism is hard to excuse. And then their is the genuine terror he expresses at the end of the Genocide run that seems very hard to explain too. I'll have to think more on it... Gotta love fan theory!
Thanks as always to The Great Derpsby for editing, and I hope you enjoy!