Then and Now Pt. 2

>You are Anon
>And you are walking through P0nyville at night with your new friend Fluttershy
>You, her, and Twilight had a long discussion about living arrangements in P0nyville
>Both Twilight and Fluttershy wanted you to stay with Fluttershy for the time being, until word from the Princess about a new species arriving in Equestria was fully absorbed and responded to
>But after hearing about how her cottage was full of all kinds of critters, and how Fluttershy was an animal caretaker, you grew suspicious that they only wanted you to stay there due to your assumed status as an animal
>At least Twilight. Fluttershy seemed to genuinely want you to stay with her
>You must have made a very good impression. But regardless, you want to ensure they see you as a person, not an animal
>So you objected. You’d rather stay at the library, and you voiced this
>It’s the most familiar place to you here, although that’s not saying much
>And even then, animals and you don’t mesh all that well
>You told Twilight that you’d rather stay with her
>Even she was excited about this. Maybe she wanted to run some tests on you or something? Or maybe she really wanted you to stay as well?
>You don’t know, but at least she agreed. But it left poor Fluttershy heartbroken
>So you bent over and gave her a quick snuggle, which perked her right up
>She must have been ready to leave, too, because her wings shot up, seemingly ready for flight
>You offered to walk her home as well. It seemed to be a fairly straight pathway there and back, and you wanted to get a little more familiar with the area anyway
>And so you arrive where you are now, walking through P0nyville, Fluttershy fluttering around you, and you bouncing your basketball, working on your dribbling as you go
>”Anon, are you sure I can’t get you to change your mind? You’d fit in so well with all my critter friends, and I have a nice warm bed we could share…”
>Sharing a bed was something you didn’t do much either. Even your friends you opted to sleep on the ground. Except with Tiffany, but only because she insisted, and it’s hard to say no to her
>You’d be lying if you said you didn’t want to share a bed with her a little too…
Ehh… thanks Ms. Fluttershy, but honestly, I’d feel more comfortable in the town. You understand, right?
>You say, faking a shot with your ball
>She lets out a sigh
>”O-okay, if you insist. But if you ever want to come visit, I’d love to have you.”
And I’d love to be had.
>You say with a smile
>The implications of such a statement are lost on your still-slightly-innocent mind
>She blushes a bit. You question why internally
>Before you know it, the town is behind you, and a winding path leads you to a quaint cottage by a stream
>You walk her to the door
>”Thanks for walking me home, Anon…” she says, blushing a little
>You rustle her mane
Not a problem, Ms. Fluttershy, have a good night.
>”Y-you too…” she says. She opens her door, hesitates a little, then quickly pecks you on the cheek before rushing inside
>You’re left on the doorstep, holding the spot she kissed awkwardly
>Must be affectionate when she gets to know someone
>With that, you turn around and head back to P0nyville, dribbling your ball as you go
>”Hey, what’s that thing?”
>You hear from up above
>You instinctively stop your dribbling, grip the ball in your hands, and look up
>Nothing but a perfect night sky, the moon shining beautifully among the glistening stars, with a few clouds passing by
>One seems lower than the others
Hello?
>You call out
>”Yeah, over here!”
>The cloud begins the descend, before appearing at your height
>A blue pegasus p0ny with a rainbow mane and tail sits atop it
>”You must be Anon, huh?”
>Word gets around fast, apparently
Yeah, that’s me. And you are?
>She hops off of her cloud. “Name’s Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in all of Equestria!”
>You smile, exhaling a small breathy laugh
>”So what’s the ball?” she asks again
>For a second, you’re perplexed. Then you realize they probably don’t even have this sport over her
This? This is a basketball.
>You say, bouncing it a couple of times.
It’s used to play… well, Basketball.
>”That a sport?” she asks.
Sure is. Want to walk with me to the library? I’ll tell you all about it.
>You walk toward the library with Rainbow Dash, telling her all the details of basketball. She seems pretty interested; apparently she’s pretty athletic herself
>”So wait, you need hands to ‘dribble’ the ball?” she says, glancing down at her fingerless hooves
>You laugh a little
Unfortunately so. But hey, maybe you could play with your wings there.
>You say, giving them a flick
>They stiffen up almost instantly. Rainbow Dash’s pupils shrink and she blushes
>Maybe you invaded some kind of personal space?
O-oh, sorry…
>She quickly folds her wings back and glances away
>”H-heh, oh, no worries, Anon.” she says, a little flustered.
>Well, you’ll try to avoid touching p0nies’ wings in the future
>But she COULD use them to dribble…
>To salvage the situation, you drop the basketball next to her
>The sound gets her attention again, and she stares at it as it continues to bounce, lower and lower, until it settles on the ground
>She then looks up to you, a little perplexed
Well go on!
>You say encouragingly
>She glances back down at the ball, then extends her wing out
>She slaps it a bit, causing it to stir
>She looks at it angrily
>She hits it harder with her wing, popping it up to a decent height
Good! Now push it back down again!
>She uses her wing to press it back towards the ground
>It bounces, as basketballs do, and pops back up. She catches it again, pushing it down, then up, then catching it…
>She gets the hang of it quite quickly, and before you know it, she’s dribbling
That a girl!
>You cheer, clapping with a smile on your face
>She blushes a little and passes the ball back to you
>You catch it in your palm and continue the dribble
>”We’re here.” She says with a smile
>Wow, already? You look up to see the big tree-library that is Twilight’s place of residence
Heh, so we are. Thanks for walking me, Ms. Dash.
>She snorts a laugh. “Don’t call me that, Anon, just Rainbow Dash is fine.”
Alright, well thanks Rainbow Dash. Maybe another time I can teach you how to shoot!
>She smiles. “I’d like that.” Her wings extend open. “Well, see you around, squirt!”
>And with that, she takes off
>A nice woman… er, mare, that Rainbow Dash is
>Now you just need to find a proper hoop to play with her
>…ehh, you’ll manage
>You knock on the library door
Ms. Sparkle? I’m back.
>The door opens, being held by the little dragon Spike
>You unknowingly take a step back when you see him
>He rolls his eyes
>”Look Anon, I’m not dangerous, okay? I’m just a normal guy. I’m not going to hurt you.”
>At this moment, you realize you really have offended him
>You step forward again
…sorry. It’s just that, back where I’m from, dragons have always been depicted as really dangerous, y’know?
>”You have dragons where you’re from?”
Well… no, not exactly. They’re made-up.
>You think back to the mighty dragon Smaug guarding his treasure from Thorin’s clan and Bilbo
>You wonder if Spike here will grow to be like that someday
>”Ah. Well, we are dangerous. Just I’m not. So don’t worry, okay?”
Sure thing, buddy.
>You say, holding out your fist
We cool?
>He laughs, causing tiny amounts of smoke to rise from his nostrils. Looked pretty awesome
>”Yeah, we’re cool.” He says, returning your fist-bump.

>Twilight was ecstatic upon your return
>She seemed even more happy when you told her about your walk with Rainbow Dash
>”You’re already meeting all of my friends! This is great!”
>You laugh nervously once again. This whole situation has been so bizarre
>”So Anon, I was wondering if I could gather some more information about you for the princess.”
>You’re actually pretty tired, but Twilight’s so jumpy and giddy about this, you’d hate to crush her spirits
Yeah, sure.
>You say, giving a thumbs up
>The realization hits that they probably won’t even know what this means
>With that, you’re on display once again
>She measures your arms and legs, each finger, head, everything
>Her note taking has gone off the charts
>”Your stature, limbs, and bone structure all seem very similar to that of an ape… are you sure you’re not some kind of mutated monkey?”
>You shoot her a dirty look, then smile again
>She means well
No, I’m a human.
>You think back to that lesson you had a few months ago in school
I think we’re related, though…? Through evolution. We share… common ancestors… or something like that…
>”Evolution?” she asks
Yeah, it’s like… over time, orgran… orgamin… ornag… animals change due to the environment… or something…
>You didn’t pay attention much during that lesson
>You really don’t want to mislead her
If I had my science textbook, I could tell you so much more…
>You scratch your head nervously
Well, to be sure, I’m not a monkey.
>She smiles at you, then scribbles some more
>”So how do humans…” she stutters, blushes a little, clears her throat, and continues:  “reproduce?”
How do we what?
>”How do they… mate? Make more children? Is it standard mammalian intercourse?”
>You’re totally lost
Like… sex?
>You feel dirty using the word
>Rumor from higher grade kids is that in middle school you take sex-ed to learn more about it
>You know very little, but it’s not something you entirely wanted to talk about either
>”Yeah, like that.” She says, smiling sheepishly
Um… I’m not exactly sure? I’m only twelve…
>She clears her throat again
>”Well, it’s not really something we need to go over anyway.”
>You laugh nervously again
>”Well,” she says, trying to regain her ‘professional’ demeanor, “would you please remove your clothing so I can get a more in-depth chart of your anatomy?”
>Your hands instinctively cover your crotch
What?! No!
>She reels back in surprise
>Ooh, maybe you were a little too startling?
I-I mean no. Um… where I’m from, you don’t go around showing people what’s under your clothes… it’s personal… y’know?
>She doesn’t know. These p0nies go around naked all the time
>Different culture in that sense for sure
>”Okay.” she says, seemingly disappointed. “Sorry for invading any kind of personal space.”
>You take your hand away from your crotch and sigh
No need to worry. You didn’t know.
>You flash a smile to show you’re being sincere
>She smiles back
Anyway Ms. Sparkle, I really am tired. Is it okay if I hit the hay?
>Heh. Hit the hay
>She beams. “Of course, Anon!”
>She begins trotting up the stairs
>”You can sleep in my bed with me!”
>Oh shoot. This is exactly the kind of thing you were trying to avoid
>Better nip this in the bud
Actually, Ms. Sparkle, I’d probably be more comfortable sleeping…
>She looks so disappointed by these words
…by myself…
>Her ears droop down a little
>”Oh. I understand, Anon.”
>She trots back downstairs
>”I could make you a small sleeping area next to mine upstairs?”
>On the ground, just like you wanted, perfect
That’d be great, thanks.
>She smiles, ears still flat
>”It’s just that…”
>She looks down to the ground
>Wow, full shy mode here, it seems
>”Well, I saw what you were doing with Fluttershy earlier, and I was wondering…”
You want to be pet?
>She blushes a little
>”Yeah…” she says, looking up to you with a sheepish smile
>You laugh to yourself internally. They really don’t need to be so awkward about these kinds of things
Sure.
>She smiles brightly
>You two walk up to her bed
>She lays down on her front and snuggles herself into her mattress
>You sit down at the edge, putting your palm on her head, and petting her all the way down to those weird tattoos on her thighs
>She shivers with each pet
>Is it cold in here or something?
>Or maybe it’s the petting?
>You have no idea
>After about fifteen minutes of petting, she seems to drift off into sleep
>You pat her on the back and rise from the bed
>You arrange with Spike a sort of comfortable spot next to the bed, much like him, and settle in yourself
>What a bizarre day. Maybe an even more bizarre tomorrow. You have no idea with talking-horse-land
>With that, you drift off to sleep

>You are Fluttershy
>And you’re so disappointed Anon didn’t want to spend the night with you
>There’s something about that human…
>The way he pet you, the way he was so kind and inviting to you when you saw him…
>He makes you feel all tingly inside
>You watch from your window as he leaves, bouncing his base-kit-ball
>The thud becoming more and more quiet
>Then you flutter toward your bed for a good night’s sleep
>The bed seems so lonely now…
>Even with all of your animal friends here, you feel so solemn
>Has this human child affected you this much?
>You look back out the window
>Too late, he’s gone…
>You sigh
>Well, he’s not far off in town
>Maybe you can convince him to stay another time
>Or maybe for… forever
>You smile slightly
>Anon needs to know how you feel, some way or another
>Maybe not now, or tomorrow, but soon
>You can’t scare him off though… he’s so young, he may not understand love like you do
>But you can show him
>Subtly, hopefully
>He’ll love you like you love him
>You’ll make him see
>You’ll make him

End of Part 2