It was a beautiful, shining morning in Ponyville when Thorax made his way to Fluttershy’s cottage. He was nervous, but Spike had insisted that Fluttershy was both very friendly and wouldn’t hurt a fly. Inky had also ‘reassured’ him, saying that Fluttershy, much like him, ‘looks spineless when you first meet her, and never so much as raises her voice unless you do something very wrong.’ He wasn’t sure Twilight understood their relationship whenever she called Inky his ‘changeling friend’. Changeling guide, maybe.

He knocked on the door, and waited. He was still Crystal Hoof for the moment. Fluttershy was aware, but it was still a secret to the rest of Ponyville. Ever since meeting Spike, he had gradually been growing stronger, and less hungry, so it was no longer difficult to maintain such a simple transformation.

Soon, the door opened and a yellow pegasus with a pink mane looked out. “Oh, hello. Are you Crystal Hoof?”

“Yes. I am. Thanks for having me.” He gave a nervous chuckle.

Fluttershy opened the door a little further and stepped aside. “Oh, it’s, um, it’s no trouble. I made sure the couch was ready, so I have a bed for both of us.”

Thorax grinned, stepping inside. “Thanks! I’ve decided cushions are really nice to sleep on, and I’ve never tried sleeping on a couch before!”

“Oh, um, I meant that you could sleep on the bed…” Fluttershy trailed off as Thorax lay down on the couch and wiggled experimentally.

“And it’s even got a rim to help keep me from falling out!”

“I’m... glad you like it.”

“So, what do you do most days?”

“Well, I make sure all my animals are taken care of.”

Thorax hopped off the couch. “That sounds like fun. Can I help?”

Fluttershy smiled. “Of course!”

That afternoon, while Thorax was cautiously watching Angel Bunny, trying to figure out how to appease him, there came a knock on the front door. He turned to face it and shrank down. “What was that?” Angel rolled his eyes and hopped over to the door, gesturing at the knob. Slowly, Thorax walked over and opened the door.

On the front step stood a brown pegasus with a dark pink mane. “Hello! Are you Crystal Hoof?”

“Um, yes, I am. Who are you?”

“I’m Tumbleweed, and I heard you were new in town, so I thought I’d give you a tour while I’m in the area.”

“Oh, you don’t live here?”

“I move around a lot, don’t really have roots anywhere, but I frequent Ponyville enough to know all the local places of interest. You could say I’m part of the welcoming committee.”

Thorax nodded. “I’ll have to tell Fluttershy first, but that sounds great!” Tumbleweed nodded and Thorax made his way to the back door.

“Fluttershy, a mare named Tumbleweed offered to take me on a tour, and I wanted to let you know I was headed out!”

“Oh, that sounds delightful. Let me know about it when you get back,” she called back from next to the chicken coop.

Then he headed back to the front door, where Tumbleweed was still waiting. “Okay! Where to first?”

She started walking down the path towards town, and he followed as she answered. “Well, I was thinking that we’d start at Sugarcube Corner, then make our way to Town Hall, then poke around town and see what interests you. My personal favorite is the racetrack.”

“What’s Sugarcube Corner?”

“It is, without a doubt, the most popular place in town. I don’t think you can really be called a Ponyvillian until you’ve been there at least once. They won the national dessert competition a few years back. Obviously Sweet Apple Acres is a bigger deal in the grand scheme of things, but for places you can go partake in as an individual, this is Ponyville’s crowning jewel.” She gestured at a large building decorated like a gingerbread house, with a double cupcake tower in the center.

“Wow…”

“Come on in, let’s grab lunch. It’ll be my treat. Unless Pinkie beats me to it.”

“Your… treat?” Thorax asked, tilting his head.

Tumbleweed laughed. “Don’t tell me they don’t have restaurants in the Crystal Empire.” She paused and tilted her head. “Actually, they were away for a thousand years, I don’t know what they might not have that seems self-evident here in Equestria.” Thorax grinned, hoping his confusion didn’t show. What was a restaurant? Did they have them in the Crystal Empire? “Anyway, let’s head in.” She led them into the building and up to a counter with a bright pink earth pony standing on the other side. “Hello Pinkie Pie.”

“Hi Tumbleweed! How’re you doing? Oh, and who’s you friend?”

“You know, I always wonder how you can remember my name. Your ability to remember everypony who comes through town is nothing short of awe-inspiring. I’m showing Crystal Hoof here around town as a favor for my cousin. Where should I bring him this evening?”

“How about Twilight’s Castle?” Pinkie asked. “That’s sure to bring back some memories.”

“We’ll be there at dusk.”

Pinkie ducked below the counter and brought out two large cups of… something. “Here’s the Welcome-to-Ponyville Special, on the house!”

Tumbleweed took one, and gestured for Thorax to do the same. “Thanks again Pinkie!”

“Anytime!”

She led the way outside, cup in wing, and started sipping on the straw. Thorax followed, awkwardly hobbling on three hooves and holding his cup in the fourth. “Oh, I hadn’t thought about that. Earth ponies don’t have as many options for carrying things as pegasi or unicorns. Why don’t we sit down while you enjoy your milkshake?”

Thorax nodded and sat down against the front wall, just far enough away that they weren’t in anypony’s way. “So, why town hall?” he asked, before beginning on his drink.

“I’m gonna help you sign up as a resident. That’s normally something everypony does themselves, but we thought you might appreciate the help working through paperwork, since you’re not from Equestria. It’s simple enough, just census stuff, then we can move on to other things.”

“We?” Thorax asked. “The Ponyville welcoming committee?”

“Actually, my cousin Perfect told me about you in a letter yesterday, and I was just a town over, so I thought I’d come by and help you get settled in. Pinkie Pie’s the real force of welcomedom in Ponyville, just you wait for dusk. In the meantime, done with your milkshake?” At his nod she set off. “Then it’s time for our next stop: Bureaucracy!” She spread her wings in a theatrical gesture of revelation. “Shouldn’t take too long, Ponyville’s pretty lax about that stuff. Way nicer than Manehatton, or Canterlot. Those could take hours.”

They made their way to a tall circular building in the town square. It was cream, with a brown roof, a fancy balcony and porch, and three stories tall, judging by the windows. Once inside Tumbleweed turned to him. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.” He looked around the room and found a pair of seats at a table by one of the windows that looked nice. By the time he had wandered over and sat down, Tumbleweed was already crossing the room towards him, a pair of papers held in her wing. “Alright, let’s see…” She sat across from him, pulled a pen out of her mane, and set the papers in front of her. Then she started writing. “Today’s the seventh, Crystal Hoof…” Scribble scritch. “And you want to keep that name, right?”

“Um, yes?”

“Thought so, just making sure.” Scritch. “Date of birth?”

“Um… I don’t know.”

Tumbleweed sighed and started tilting her head. “Maybe… sixteen? How’s that sound?”

“Can we do that?”

“As long as you make an honest effort, nopony cares if these are exact. When do you want your birthday to be?”

“Sixteen years ago sounded good.”

“The sixteenth of last month it is. Crystal Empire, Equestria obviously, why is that even a question? Fluttershy’s cottage by the Everfree. Do either of your parents live in Equestria? Specifically not the Crystal Empire. I’m not actually sure if that counts as part of Equestria.” He shook his head. “Crystal pony, blue, blue, still blue, urn. Alright, look this over and tell me if there’s anything wrong.”

She spun the papers around and pushed them over to him. He dutifully picked them up and looked them over. Then he set them back down with a sheepish grin. “I, um… I don’t know how to read.”

She took the papers back. “Well, in that case I’ll mark this here, and make a note… Done. I’ll take this and meet you outside.” He went outside to wait, and sure enough she was back in a flash. “Alright, how would you describe your general education thus far?”

“Um…”

“I see. I wonder if Cheerilee would be okay with accepting an older student?” She trotted off, and Thorax followed closely.

“So, I would learn how to read?”

Tumbleweed nodded. “Among other things. It’s an important life skill, regardless of what profession you end up following. Some ponies even like to read for pleasure, but that’s never been something I did much of. I’m always busy doing something or going somewhere, never time for a book. But I read plenty of signs, menus, maps, and the like.”

“I’ve always wanted to learn how to read. It seems cool.”

“Perfect! I’ll look into that tomorrow. For now, let’s see if anything interests you.”

As it turned out, it was harder to find something that didn’t interest Thorax than something that did. He’d really liked a lamp selection they’d found, but even though Tumbleweed seemed to slow down for the first time in their whirlwind tour, she’d still dragged him away sooner than he’d have liked.

When the sun finally began to touch the horizon she brought him to the Northern edge of town where Twilight’s castle waited. Tumbleweed gestured for Thorax to take the lead, so he did. The lights were out and nopony greeted them when he knocked tentatively on the doors. He looked back at Tumbleweed, who nodded with a small grin on her face and gestured to push the doors open. Taking a breath, he did so. It was dark inside, and he slowly stepped forward, using a hoof to check for obstacles.

“Surprise!” The lights came on and revealed dozens of ponies standing in a wide semicircle around the main doors, all cheering. Pinkie Pie, Spike, and Twilight Sparkle were all there, as were several ponies he’d briefly met around town. He also saw Fluttershy, though she was further back from the main gathering. “Everypony, I want you to meet our newest friend, Crystal Hoof!” Pinkie said, before zipping over and offering him a party blower, which he hesitantly took.

“Oh, thanks Pinkie. I wasn’t expecting so many ponies to want to meet me.”

“Don’t be silly!” Pinkie said, starting to lead Thorax further into the room. “Everypony you haven’t met is just a friend waiting to be made! And who doesn’t want to meet new friends?”

Tumbleweed chuckled slightly as she watched the two of them go. He was certainly taking the party better than Twilight had, back when she first came to town. She had figured he would, despite his nervousness. Changelings were very social animals by necessity, he would need a good support system here if he was to thrive. And the longer she had hung around him, the more the grub had grown on her. At first she had dismissed him as a weakling, but she had to remind herself that strength was hardly the only value a pony could have. Still, Inky would probably keep being a little hard on him, couldn’t let him completely lose his edge.

It looked like Tumbleweed might end up hanging around town more than normal for a while, at least until he was fully settled. Maybe she should introduce him to Derpy? Or Hairy Potter, he should probably learn a thing or two from him, it would help him blend in.

But she knew one thing for absolute certain. Everything was certainly fine. Only, now that she had that thought those words sounded familiar, and not in a good way. Like there was a proverbial raincloud waiting to soak her happy little parade.

Hopefully she was just being paranoid, but she’d speak with the Doctor about it tomorrow.

Author's Note

In case it wasn’t obvious I’m using the beginning and ending songs of Magical Mystery Cure as a theme for this story. I don’t remember why. Maybe I just happened upon the title and decided to run with it?

Anyway, this one’s just here to show Thorax settling into his new home.