I sighed and closed the tab I was on. I'd spent the last four hours studying this My Little Pony thing. Apparently it's popular as hell with these people called 'Bronies'. I'd watched half a dozen episodes and found it remarkably good for a show for little girls. I'd paid special attention to the pony called Fluttershy. The similarities between the shows Fluttershy and the one currently asleep in my room were more than skin deep. From what I'd seen of their personalities, they're identical in every way. Other than the physical appearances, they're both incredibly shy; they both even speak the same way. An interesting thing I'd found out was that on the show she was adept with animals.

That would explain why Mits hadn't attacked her like she did with other people. The mailman still glared at me and Jas.

I shut the lid on the laptop before I could try and convince myself they were the same person, pony, thing. I rubbed my eyes. I should start going to sleep before midnight more often. Jas would be back from America the day after tomorrow, well, tomorrow, seeing as it was 1am.

I grabbed the blanket from the coffee table and curled up on the sofa, head on the arm rest.

I groaned as sunlight streamed through a crack in the curtain, straight into my eyes. Millions of miles away, and the sun still has perfect aim. Why?

I sat up and rubbed my face. A small light was flashing on the laptop. I stood and stretched, touching the ceiling. At 6' 1" I wasn't that tall, but I was a couple of inches up on Jas. I smiled. She'd be back tomorrow. She'd been in America visiting her parents for two weeks. We'd chatted on webcam a couple of times, but I still missed her.

I heard a sigh from my bedroom and remembered my guest. I walked up to the door and peeked round, but she was still asleep. Mits was curled up in front of her, like she did with Jas. That made me smile, but it didn't last. I turned and frowned as I thought about how I was going to tell Fluttershy she wasn't a character from a cartoon show.

There it was again. I niggling doubt at the back of my mind. As much as I try to convince myself, there was some part of me that wanted to believe her, that she had been a pony.

I sighed and stepped into the kitchen to start breakfast. As I knelt down to open the cupboard I decided to make something a little more appetizing than probably burnt toast. I pulled put some pancake mix and pulled down a frying pan from over the oven. As I turned the hob on, I heard footsteps behind me. Looking over my shoulder I saw Fluttershy step into the living room, sleepy eyed, blinking and hair a mess.

"Morning, Fluttershy." I said unsurely.

"Good morning, uh, Jamie?" she asked me. I'd told her my name on the way back here.

"Yeah. Want anything to eat? You must be hungry. I'm making pancakes." I held up the pan and box of pancake mix.

"O-ok, but, um, can I clean up first? That is, if you don't mind…" she held a strand of her pink hair in front of her face.

I nodded. "Sure. If you want I can wash your clothes. You could borrow some of Jas's in the meantime, I'm sure she won't mind." I said as I started preparing the pancakes.

"Ok." she said quietly. She stood there twirling her hair, and I realised why. "Bathrooms just there." I pointed at the door.

"Thank you." she nodded and walked in.

I smiled, put down the cooking supplies and jogged into the bedroom, stepped over Mits and opened the wardrobe. I took out one of Jas's shirts, some jeans, and underwear before placing them on the bed. At the last second I grabbed a purple towel from the spare room. I walked up to the bathroom door and, not hearing any running water, knocked gently.

"Yes?" came her muffled, still quiet voice.

"I've got a towel for you. Do you want me to leave it on the doorknob?" I asked

"Okay." she said.

I placed the towel and as I walked away I heard the door open and close behind me. I stepped back into the kitchen to make the pancakes. As I poured the mix into the pan and let it simmer. I'm not much of a cook, if my Sunday roast is anything to go by, but pancakes are just about the one meal I can cook well.

I set up another pan and flipped the first pancake. I grabbed a couple of plates and some knives and forks. As I set them on the table I heard my mobile ring. It was still in my pocket from the day before, in the clothes I'd slept in. I picked it out and saw it was Jas.

"Hey Jas!" I said brightly.

"Hey Jamie, god it's good to hear from you!" Jas said back quietly. It was 9am here, so it would be about midnight in Anchorage, where Jas was.

"You too Jas. I'm just making some pancakes. What are you up to?"

"That's why I'm calling you. I'm packing my bags. The airports closing early, so I need to come back a day sooner. I'm catching the next plane to London, then I'll take a train to Lincoln. I've got it all arranged."

I was a little surprised, but in a good way. "So when will you be back?" I asked.

"Well, I'm leaving in 3 hours, the flight will take about 8 hours, and the train takes another 3. Plus I have to get from the airport to the station, which could take up to an hour if the traffics bad…"

I did a quick working. "15 hours, so… midnight?" I asked.

I could hear Jas tapping the phone. She would do that whenever she was thinking. "Yeah, about that."

"I'll meet you at the station then." I beamed. Guess I'd get to see her sooner than expected. Then I frowned, hearing the running water coming from the bathroom. I didn't know what was going to happen with Fluttershy, and if she didn't have anywhere to go, she'd be staying here again tonight. "Jas? I have something to tell you."

"What is it?" she sounded curious.

I sighed into the phone as I flipped a pancake. "It's a long story."

I told her about sitting in the woods trying to draw, then finding Fluttershy, bringing her back here, trying to convince her she wasn't a cartoon character, failing and letting her stay the night. I re-assured her I slept on the sofa.

"So you're not mad?" I asked, holding the phone with my shoulder as I placed four pancakes on a plate.

"Of course not. I know you Jamie. But she really thinks she's a cartoon character?"

"Yeah. But the weird thing is, even though it's impossible, there's some small part of me that makes me want to believe her."

"That's crazy though, how could she be from a cartoon show? Look, I've got to go, this call will be costing me a fortune."

"Alright. Talk to you when you get back tonight. Text me when you're nearly here so I can pick you up."

"Ok. See you soon Jamie. Love you!"

"Love you too Jas! See you soon."

"Bye!" she hung up. I put the phone back in my pocket as the bathroom door opened. I made sure not to look.

"I've laid out some clothes for you in the bedroom Fluttershy, and I'm cooking the pancakes."

"Ok, thank you." I heard her soft footsteps head into the bedroom, and when I looked round I saw Mits sitting on the sofa, staring down the hallway. She turned to look at me and meowed.

I simply raised an eyebrow and went back to cooking the pancakes.

Seven minutes later (what, I'm precise) the pancakes were done and Fluttershy came out of my room, her hair in the towel.

"Hi Fluttershy. How many pancakes do you want?" I asked, turning around to face her. She looked nice. I turned away quickly and placed the pancakes on a plate.

"Oh, just three please." she asked, sitting down at the table.

"Sure. Want any butter? Lemon maybe?"

"Just some butter please."

"Alrighty." I opened the fridge, pulled out a tub of butter and cut out a lump. I placed it on top of the pancakes and as it started to melt I picked up the plate and placed it on the table in front of Fluttershy.

"Thank you Jamie." she smiled up at me.

"No problem." I smiled back at her and went back to the oven to make myself some pancakes. When I looked back, she was clumsily holding the knife and fork, cutting into the top pancake into pieces. She picked the cut off piece up with the fork, like a spoon, and it slid off. I laughed. "You have to spear it." I told her. Again, I was close to believing she really was a cartoon character. She finally placed the pancake piece in her mouth. As she did so, she beamed.

"This is really nice." she said.

I smiled. I always appreciate it when people appreciate my cooking. Well, my good cooking. "Thanks Fluttershy. Glad you enjoy it." I went back to cooking my pancakes. When they were done, I squeezed a slice of lemon over and laid on a piece of butter. I sat down across from Fluttershy, who had just moved on to the last pancake. She was having real trouble using the knife and fork, and as it was she ate slowly anyway, as if unsure how to. I laid into my stack of four pancakes.

After we'd both finished, I looked across at her. Given my last attempts at telling her she wasn't this Fluttershy, I was weary of trying again. A thought struck me. I was no medical expert, so I couldn't be sure it wasn't some sort of head injury, or drugs. It was still early, about half nine.

"Fluttershy, can I take you to a doctor?" I asked, swallowing the last piece of pancake. Fluttershy had finished a couple of minutes ago, and had waited for me.

"Um, ok. Why?" she said.

"I just want to make sure you're ok."

"Ok. Thank you for the pancakes. They were wonderful." she smiled at me.

I smiled back. "No problem." I took both her and my plates and put them in the dishwasher.

"I'm just gonna change, then take you to the clinic. 'K Fluttershy?" I asked. She nodded.