After a brief walk, we reached Fluttershy's cottage. There were animals literally everywhere I looked; birds on the roof and backyard fence, squirrels and mice building homes in the ground and trees, and there was one bunny that kept staring at me with a look of displeasure.
Twilight knocked on the door
"Fluttershy, Fluttershy it's me, Twilight."
And from behind the door I heard a meek and gentle female voice say, "Oh, come in, it's open..."
Upon entering I noticed a distinct smell, or, rather a lack of smell. I would have bet money on the cottage smelling of cat urine and rodent droppings, but it smelled of natural freshness and flowers.
I saw Fluttershy putting food down for a cat with a cast on its leg. Twilight did tell me Fluttershy was the local unofficial vet.
She was a cute girl, one of the youngest of Twilight's five friends. She had long pink hair that flowed down from her head. She had on a yellow gown that went down to her shins and, because the gown was sleeveless, I could see that her Cutie Mark was an image of three pink butterflies.
She said, in her quiet voice, "Hello Twilight. What brings you he-"
She stopped the moment she made eye contact with me.
She had glassy blue eyes that told me everything about who she was. I could tell that she was the gentlest person in any world; she wouldn't hurt a germ; she would choose her friends over any earthly or unearthly possession.
"T-T-Twilight..." she became much quieter and started blushing while she tried to hide her face behind her long bangs. She was only a fraction of a decibel louder than a whisper, "Who's th-that?"
"Oh, don't worry Fluttershy; he's just a friend of mine. He's new in town."
Just because I'd lived alone for so many years doesn't mean I'd forgotten my manners. I stuck out my hand for a handshake and politely said, "Nice to meet you, Fluttershy."
She cowered a little and just looked at my hand for a few seconds before hesitantly shaking it. She kept looking down and avoiding eye contact with me. Twilight told me she was shy, but I wasn't expecting this kind of shy.
"S-So, Twilight, what brings you here?"
"I'm trying to get ingredients for a spell; some ginkgo biloba. I thought you had some," Twilight explained.
"Oh, um, yes I have some. It's, uh, in the kitchen..."
Fluttershy headed toward a cabinet above the sink in the kitchen and rifled through jars and bottles of herbs and medicines until she found and pulled out a little jar with a few leaves in it and handed it to Twilight.
"Here you go. Is there anything else you need?
Twilight remembered the candles, "Oh, yes. Do you have any incense candles I can use?"
"Umm..." Fluttershy looked around the room before picking up a box on the coffee table and looking into it, "Is six enough?"
"Sure, that'll be fine," Twilight said before taking the box and heading for the door, "Thanks, Fluttershy."
She looked up at me through her pink bangs, her blush fading, smiled shyly, and gave me a quick wave before I closed the door behind me as I left.
Upon Twilight opening the door, I realized the inside was darker than when we'd left.
"Ugh," Twilight complained, "Why did Spike turn off the lights? I can't see a thing."
She felt around for a switch on the wall. When she found one, she flipped it, and I almost had a heart attack.
When the lights came on, my eyes caught a large banner strung across the ceiling that read "Welcome Nobody!" There was a large amount of people in the room and food arranged on tables, streamers were everywhere, but before I could react, everyone and their brother shouted, "SURPRISE! WELCOME TO PONYVILLE!"
Twilight shrieked, and my heart nearly skipped a beat, not because I was surprised, which I was, but because of how much it sounded like the voices when they would all shout at once when I was about to fall asleep. The fear of them coming back overtook me, and I clutched at the sides of my head and leaned against the wall slid down it until I was lying on my side and mumbling, "no, no, no, no," to myself. I don't know what happened. It was probably my intense fear of the voices and sudden shock that did it, but I quickly passed out near Twilight's doorway.
