The invitation had, naturally, come as something of a surprise to Jay when he'd received it. Not that he wasn't grateful of course. Being asked to come over and spend time with someone was always a welcome thing. Although, traditionally, he would have liked to at least know the person before he went off visiting them. But, off he'd gone anyway and, as was the norm for him, his sense of direction in this new town of his wasn't the best. He kept getting street names mixed up, and on more than one occasion he'd had to ask one of the local ponies for help. To their credit, they were eager to give him the information he needed, and soon enough, he was on the right track. His path took him further and further from the centre, and his surroundings were becoming more natural-looking with every step. Eventually, however, he came upon what had to be the place he was trying to find, and when he did, he couldn't help but stop and stare at it.

"...Okay."

The image before him was, to be perfectly frank, exactly the kind of thing you'd expect to find on the cover of some children's fairy tale book. An idyllic cottage, surrounded by nature, with singing birds, and an overall look of calm, peace and tranquillity. Jay blinked slowly for a time, as though unsure of what he was seeing. But, he then realised that, if he was going to be living among talking equines, then something like this probably shouldn't seem all that strange to him. So, letting out a sigh, he began to walk up to the place, and as soon as he'd reached the door, he balled his hand into a fist and knocked gently upon it. A moment or two passed before he heard anything, but eventually, he could make out movement on the other side. At last, the door opened, and on the other side was a yellow pegasus mare, with a long pink mane and a warm smile.

"Oh! Mr Jay! You made it!"

Jay smiled at this happy-sounding welcome.

"And you're Miss Fluttershy, yes?"

The mare nodded.

"Yes. I'm glad you could make it. Please, come in!"

And come in he did, as Jay knelt slightly to enable himself to enter through the doorway that, in all honesty, was probably not designed for someone of his height. As soon as he was in, however, he found, to his slight delight, that the interior was just as nice to look at as the exterior. Comfy chairs, plenty of cushions, and an array of other furniture and decorations that had the combined effect of just oozing cosiness all over. Turning, he looked upon his host as she walked past him.

"Please, make yourself right at home!"

Nodding, Jay smiled at the warm welcome he was being given, and so did as suggested, making his way over to a particularly soft-looking chair nearby. He sat down upon it, and as soon as he did so, he looked up to see Fluttershy re-enter the room. She was carrying a tray that bore two cups upon it, and at this point, Jay didn't need any questions to know what drink in particular was being brought to him. He took his cup when his host offered it to him, and he gave her an appreciative smile in return. Fluttershy's own smile widened as a result, and after setting the tray down on a nearby small table, she took her own cup and hovered over to another chair. For a few moments, neither of them did anything except blow on their respective drinks before taking small sips of it. Jay was the first to speak after this.

"Ah! Now that's really good!"

Fluttershy giggled to this.

"I'm glad you like it."

But, it wasn't long before Jay turned to her, looking very much curious.

"As grateful as I am that you invited me over here, Miss...why?"

Fluttershy shrugged her shoulders.

"When I heard there was somepony new living in town, and that they weren’t a pony, I knew I had to meet you."

Jay shifted uncomfortably in his chair, looking a little embarrassed all of a sudden.

"Well...I know people like me aren't really that well known around here. Sorry if my appearance is a little..."

But, he was halted from saying anything further by a raised hoof from Fluttershy.

"Don't you worry one little bit! I've known all sorts of strange and colourful creatures in my days. Some you wouldn't even believe!"

She took another sip of her tea before continuing.

"I'm always eager to meet new kinds of people, especially ones I never knew about before."

A relaxed sigh escaped Jay after hearing that.

"Well...I'm glad to hear that. I know some of the other ponies have been having a hard time coming to terms with...you know...some guy from a species they've never heard of in these parts."

Fluttershy shook her head.

"Oh, there's no need to get yourself down over that. Ponies around here warm up to everypony in time!"

Jay nodded, taking a gulp of his own drink before looking back to her.

"So...you like animals? I saw quite a few of them around here."

His host's face lit up after having been asked that question.

"Oh yes! I've always loved animals! Big or small, furred or feathered, they've always held a special place in my heart. Like Harry, the sweetest bear you'll ever meet!"

Jay had been about to put his cup to his lips again, but after hearing that, he stopped.

"There's...there's a bear around here?!"

Fluttershy could instantly see the thoughts that were no doubt racing in Jay's mind at that notion, and once more raised her hoof, speaking in a direct, yet calming way.

"I assure you, Harry is perfectly tame. He may look big and scary, and his roar really is quite something, but he's no danger."

Jay considered that for a time, and while he still seemed a little uncertain, the way Fluttershy had said all of that seemed to at least put him at ease, as evidenced by the more relaxed posture he now assumed.

"Sorry...I didn't mean to offed you or your friend."

Fluttershy resumed her earlier smile.

"It's alright. It's only natural to react that way. But, I'm glad you're willing to trust me when I said he was safe. Not many would."

This time, it was Jay's turn to smile. With that done he, moments afterward, raised his hand to his face, no doubt to once more take a sip of his tea. But, just before he did this, he discovered, to his shock, that his hand no longer actually had a tea cup in it. For a few moments, he looked around himself, trying to find it, and this movement caught Fluttershy's attention.

"Something wrong?"

Though confused, Jay nevertheless managed to get some words out.

"Yes. Um...I could've sworn I had that cup with me that whole time."

Fluttershy too seemed confused by this sudden disappearance of the cup in question. But, after some seconds had come and gone, her expression changed to one of slight irritation. She took a deep breath, set her own cup aside on the table, then put on a smile as she regarded Jay once more.

"Would you excuse me for a moment?"

Though unsure of her sudden need to leave, Jay nodded, and watched as she trotted off towards the back door of her house. She closed it behind her after leaving, which left Jay all alone in this place. He tired to pass the time by just looking around the place, but soon, he could hear Fluttershy's voice outside. It sounded like she was speaking to someone, and that she was upset with them. Then, Jay heard a second voice, a male from the sound of it, though who it was he couldn't say. Then, he watched as Fluttershy re-entered the cottage, her smile once more upon her face.

"I'm sorry about that. Would you like to continue with your drink?"

Jay opened his mouth, only to stop when he realised, to his surprise, that his cup was indeed once more back in his hand. Naturally, he was rather taken aback by all of this, and looked to the mare with a clear "please explain this to me" look about him. Giggling again, Fluttershy gave an answer.

"Oh, nothing to worry about. Just a friend of mine who needs to learn to control his jealousy a bit better. I usually only have tea parties with him, you see."

Jay nodded, though was still not sure of what to say about all of this. But, figuring it’d be rude not to say something, he did.

“Well, I can safely say that this tea party is a nice one. Thank you again for bringing me over.”

Fluttershy maintained her smile towards him.

“You’re very welcome, Jay!”

Taking a long-overdue sip of his briefly-missing tea, Jay then looked back to her.

“Um...out of curiosity...if I were to visit you again...would I go through any more strange things like that?”

Considering that, Fluttershy shook her head.

“Oh no! I can promise you, things will be perfectly fine if you came over again.”

Jay sighed, clearly relaxed at those words. But, as he took another sip, Fluttershy added more to her prior statement, looking far more serious than before as she did so.

“And if something does happen unexpectedly...somepony is getting quite the talking to.”

Her guest stared at her, then, after seeing her return to her prior smile, he cleared his throat a little.

“In that case...would you like to talk a little bit more about your animals?”

At the mention of that particular topic, Fluttershy’s ears perked up, and she seemed as excited as ever.

“Oh, I’d be delighted!”

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