At my Doorstep

Chapter 2

I headed downstairs to check on the pair of ponies. They were, unsurprisingly, mesmerised by what they saw down there. Twilight was stepping carefully around the mess of the living area (With the TV, stereo, Xbox, and furniture.), staring at the wonders of electronics and plastic she saw. Fluttershy, on the other hand, was gawking at the paintings and photographs on the walls.

I decided to turn on a light for them. (It was pretty dark down there, being evening and all.)

It surprised both of them. “How did you do that?” Twilight marveled. Naturally, I was a bit surprised at this question. “See this little rectangle with the raised bottom? All I did was push on the top a bit.” I replied. She stepped a bit closer to the switch, and pushed at the bottom of it, putting the basement back to darkness. “How does it do that?” she asked. “Well... Quite honestly I don’t know.” I answered. “You’d have to ask someone smarter.”

During this amazement, I don’t think Fluttershy pulled her eyes away from the painting on the wall for one second. “It’s so beautiful,” she said with admiration. I concurred with her; the painting was of a clearing in the woods, with a house at the center-left. Running through the front yard of the house was a small stream with a bridge built over it. On the right was a wooded path through the outskirt of the clearing.

“Do you like it? I think my sister painted that when she was younger.” I told her. What I WASN’T about to tell her, though, was what my sister had become. (A complete addict. I’m not focusing on that.)

“Oh, very much yes, mister...” Her voice trailed off, looking for a name. My name! I hadn’t told them yet.

“Oh, right. How rude of me. My name is Dan. But you don’t have to add the ‘mister.’” I said.

“What an... unusual name.” “I could say the same to you guys” I thought with a small internal chuckle.

“So, Dan, earlier I heard you mention something about the rest of your family? Where are they? I would love to meet them.” Twilight seemed eager to meet them.

“Oh well... They’re kind of out getting a few things right now. They likely won’t be back for a few hours.” I couldn’t help but base that off of my past experiences. They always took longer than the “little bit” they promise. Not that I minded.

“I understand. While we’re all here, can I ask you a few things about your world? I don’t want to be to terribly shocked by what we might see here.” Twilight was already starting to ask these things? I hoped she knew what she was getting into.

“Sure thing. But first... I think there is someone that Fluttershy would like to meet. I know how you like animals...”

Fluttershy’s ears perked up at this. “But... how did you know that?” She wasn’t making this easier.

“Remember what I said when Twilight tried to tell me your names? ‘I already know your names. I don’t know how, but I know you two like the back of my hand.’ Well that also comes with the knowledge of your interests.” Of course my explanation was a blatant lie. I DID know how I knew them so well.

“Oh... right. Anyway I would love to meet an animal of this world! What is it? A bird? A bunny?” She seemed even more eager to meet this animal than Twilight did to meet my family!

“Well, your close. Have you ever heard of a Guinea Pig?” I asked.

She nodded enthusiastically. “Oh I love Guinea Pigs! They’re so cute and cuddly...” She went on about why she loved them. “Would you like to meet mine? She’s one of the cutest on the planet, if I say so myself.” I offered.

She was practically jumping. I lead her upstairs quickly, excusing myself from Twilight for a short moment. “Her ca-- er... her home is in the living room. We call her ‘Izzy’, short for Isabella. Be careful, though: She may bite if you get at her to fast.” I stopped short at “cage” as to not give Fluttershy the wrong idea of how I treat animals. It simply sounded a bit harsh.

Fluttershy and Izzy alike had no problems getting along. As I expected, they really seemed to understand each other, as if they both spoke English. (Or Guinea Pig Latin?) Regardless of the language, Izzy seemed content.

I excused myself from the two to go back downstairs. (Although I don’t think either of them minded to terribly.) “So, Twilight, where were we?” I asked. She was busy examining my gaming rocker on the floor. I could only imagine her thoughts being “Well, this looks uncomfortable.” She wheeled around and started. “Oh, yes. I wanted to ask you a few questions about the world you live in and your species.”

“Fire away”

“I guess that means ‘start’, right? Okay. First: What is your main supply of Hay here? Me and Fluttershy are a bit hungry.”

“Well fuck.” I thought. Why did this question have to be the first AND hardest to answer at the same time? “Erm... Twilight,” I started. How was I going to say this? “Humans don’t really um... I guess the short answer would be that we don’t have a very regular supply of Hay around here. I can certainly buy some; its just a bit hard to come by.” I diverted that disaster. Good for now.

“Oh... But if Hay is so hard to get here, what do Humans eat?” She asked. Good grief this wasn’t going to be easy.

“Twilight... This isn’t going to be easy for you to hear at all, and I know your not going to like it. Humans don’t eat Hay. We eat...” I took a breath and braced, “Meat.”