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[AiE] SCPony by AponymousAuthor

By silvertear
Created: 2021-03-13 14:51:23
Expiry: Never
anonymous/aie/anonymous in equestrialyra heartstringsaponymousauthor

  1. 1.
    SCPony
  2. 2.
    by AponymousAuthor
  3. 3.
     
  4. 4.
    original post time: Sun 04 Mar 2018 22:59:28 Pacific
  5. 5.
    original post: https://desuarchive.org/mlp/thread/31977572/#32001719
  6. 6.
    original pastebin: https://pastebin.com/VW3W1NBJ
  7. 7.
     
  8. 8.
    Note: This was my attempt at saving AponymousAuthor's story that was in AiE, strung together by following the post numbers to the original post through a desuarchive search of AponymousAuthor's name, "pastebin" and trying to find any and all stories that were written by that author. I grabbed the title off of RHorse's paste that was cataloguing stories (https://poneb.in/eMYymLBR), and unfortunately, the last post (https://desuarchive.org/mlp/thread/32283083/#32297441) by the author had this story put on hold.
  9. 9.
     
  10. 10.
    ==============================
  11. 11.
     
  12. 12.
    >Be Anon
  13. 13.
    >Confused and unsure of just where you'd woken up
  14. 14.
    >You'd been walking down the street, gone to take a step around a corner, and found your foot meeting air
  15. 15.
    >You began to fall, shutting your eyes as you tumbled through the air, only to wake up the middle of a forest
  16. 16.
    >It had been oddly silent, but you hadn't really been all that worried about that fact. The more pressing matter was just what was going on, and how you'd wound up here
  17. 17.
    >After walking for a while, you saw light shining through the trees ahead of you, and you soon emerged from the dark, silent woods, the sun beaming down at you
  18. 18.
    >This was when your memory began to get fuzzy
  19. 19.
    >You'd noticed what looked like a brightly-colored village in the distance but then, as you began to make your way towards it, you felt a sharp sting in your arm
  20. 20.
    >You looked down to see what had stung you, saw a...you couldn't quite remember, but then you were falling again, the world going dark
  21. 21.
     
  22. 22.
    -----
  23. 23.
     
  24. 24.
    >When you awoke, you found yourself sitting on the ground in the center of a small, stone room, light beaming down at you from above
  25. 25.
    >The walls were smooth, and you couldn't see any signs of cracks or partitions in the walls
  26. 26.
    >Struggling to stand, you leaned against the wall behind you and, after looking around the room for a way in, or out, you slowly looked up, squinting into the light
  27. 27.
    >With how bright it was, you couldn't make out just what it was, so you looked back down, staring at the walls again
  28. 28.
    >Reaching out, you ran a hand over the wall in front of you, feeling the cool stone
  29. 29.
    "Hello?"
  30. 30.
    >You called out, stepping away from the wall, moving into the center of the small room, trying to resist the urge to panic
  31. 31.
    >Wherever you were, this place clearly wasn't natural, so there must be people nearby, right?
  32. 32.
    >If that was the case, then there had to be someone who could help you out of here, right?
  33. 33.
    "Is anyone there?"
  34. 34.
     
  35. 35.
    >When no reply came, your panic started to rise again
  36. 36.
    >Why were you here?
  37. 37.
    >Had you done something?
  38. 38.
    >This wasn't any kind of jail cell you knew, after all, and as far as you were aware, you hadn't committed any kind of crime nearly so bad as to warrant something like this
  39. 39.
    >The fear began to take over here
  40. 40.
    >If this wasn't a cell of some sort, then what kind of person would have this set up?
  41. 41.
    >When you thought of that, you came to the conclusion that you really didn't have any desire to hang around and find out that fact.
  42. 42.
    >Not seeing any way out around you, you glanced back up, squinting at the light
  43. 43.
    >Reaching your hands out, they easily met the walls on your sides
  44. 44.
    >Flexing, you brought your legs up, pressing them to the walls
  45. 45.
    >You were still wearing your clothes, your soles giving you plenty of grip, even on these smooth walls
  46. 46.
    >Shifting, you began to climb higher, keeping your head facing down so you didn't need to squint
  47. 47.
    >The light was higher than you'd figured it would be, gauging you'd made it around nine feet up and you'd yet to feel your head bump into anything
  48. 48.
    >You considered climbing back down, only to feel your head touch something hard and warm, your growing shadows nearly covering the room below you
  49. 49.
    "Guess that's the light."
  50. 50.
    >You grunted, moving your head up, staring at a...crystal?
  51. 51.
    >What?
  52. 52.
    >Sweat dripping down your head, you pushed as hard as you could with your legs and arm, moving your left up to see if you could grab it
  53. 53.
    >It was warm to the touch, and clearly the source of the light being cast into the room, but unlike a normal light, it was hard as anything, and smooth too, your attempts to dislodge it from the stone ceiling proving all but fruitless
  54. 54.
    >Disappointed, you slowly climbed back down, coming to rest sitting on the floor
  55. 55.
    >No doors, a sealed ceiling, and a gem shining light down into the room?
  56. 56.
    >Just where the hell were you?
  57. 57.
     
  58. 58.
     
  59. 59.
    >You weren't really sure how long had passed, given you were standing outside during the day, and now you were in here
  60. 60.
    >It could have been less than an hour, or maybe a day
  61. 61.
    >You weren't feeling all that hungry or thirsty, so you couldn't imagine that much time had passed
  62. 62.
    >Still, you were really hoping someone would come along soon and explain this
  63. 63.
    >You weren't claustrophobic, but if anything would make you into one, this would be it
  64. 64.
    >Though...boy were you feeling sleepy
  65. 65.
    >Yawning, you leaned back against the wall behind you
  66. 66.
    >A part of you said not to fall asleep but you were finding it harder and harder to keep your eyes open
  67. 67.
    >As your head slumped downwards, you almost thought you could hear voices, but you just couldn't keep yourself up, you had to sleep
  68. 68.
    >How many times were you going to have to handle the world falling out beneath you?
  69. 69.
     
  70. 70.
    -----
  71. 71.
     
  72. 72.
    >When you woke up, you found yourself in another stone room, though this one was larger than the last
  73. 73.
    >This room had to be nearly 9-by-9 feet, enough space to lay down or move about in
  74. 74.
    >Light similar to last time was shining down on you, though now it was softer, and more spread about
  75. 75.
    >You wanted to kick yourself for falling asleep earlier, but given what was going on, you could only imagine that whoever was keeping you here had done something to put you out so you could be moved in here
  76. 76.
    >That, more than anything, gave you hope that you could at least talk to someone
  77. 77.
    "Is anyone there? Please just tell me what's going on!"
  78. 78.
    >Once again you were met with silence
  79. 79.
    >With a groan, you went to lay down, sitting on the ground when you got what you thought was a response
  80. 80.
    >"Qwrryl?"
  81. 81.
    >You shot back up, your body tense as you looked around the room, trying to find the source of the voice
  82. 82.
    >You waited for a moment, trying to hear if there'd be a follow-up, but when none came, you decided to try again
  83. 83.
    "Quirrel? What does that mean?"
  84. 84.
    >"Qwirrl courlarr? Clwah?"
  85. 85.
    >Well this was going nowhere but yet...
  86. 86.
    >Someone was there!
  87. 87.
     
  88. 88.
    >Slowly, you stood up to your full height, looking around the room before your eyes peered back up towards the light
  89. 89.
    >Could the voice be coming from there?
  90. 90.
    >If that was the case, maybe it was why you'd been moved into this room
  91. 91.
    >Still, issues needed to be sorted
  92. 92.
    "I don't know what you're saying! What do you want from me?"
  93. 93.
    >Another pause, and fun the voice came again, different this time though
  94. 94.
    >It sounded like the same speaker as before, but they were speaking in an entirely different way
  95. 95.
    >"Grar? Rrgrath?"
  96. 96.
    >There was a growling to their tone, and it almost sounded like they were gnashing their teeth when they spoke
  97. 97.
    >On e again you responded with confusion, and once again your captor's replied with a different voice
  98. 98.
    >Once you heard a third sort of way of speaking, you realized that they might just be trying different languages to see what you spoke
  99. 99.
    >The only issue with that was the fact that you couldn't recall hearing any language before that sounded like these
  100. 100.
    >The voice broke the silence yet again, and you sat down while the questioning tone rang out
  101. 101.
    "I don't understand you! Do you speak English?"
  102. 102.
    >The voice didn't respond after that, though you waited to see if it would
  103. 103.
    >When you got nothing in response, you laid down, cold floor greeting you, making you shiver
  104. 104.
    >Someone was out there
  105. 105.
    >It was only a a matter of time
  106. 106.
     
  107. 107.
     
  108. 108.
    >"Entity is a tall, bipedal creature. It stands 195 centimeters tall. It's arms both end with five digits, similar as to those of a Minotaur. No effort has been made as of yet to remove the entity's clothing, but given the lack of fur, the entity may very well wear clothes to maintain a preferable temperature."
  109. 109.
    >The light green mare paused momentarily, examining the footage that had been recorded of the entity so far
  110. 110.
    >It was a strange thing, tall and lanky, and something about it just looked...off
  111. 111.
    >Like it didn't belong
  112. 112.
    >While obviously that was normally the case, it seemed different in a way than many of the other items and creatures that had been contained
  113. 113.
    >Was it something to do with it's eyes?
  114. 114.
    >"The Entity has shown comprehensive abilities, using the size of its original containment unit to climb to the top. It recognized the crystal embedded there, and attempted to grasp it, but when it could not, the Entity returned to the floor."
  115. 115.
    >Pausing again, she replayed the footage of the Entity responding vocally to the questions posed to it, her horn glowing, letting her take up her pencil once more
  116. 116.
    "The Entity responded vocally to questions posed, but, as of yet, we have not found a common language. Further testing is required."
  117. 117.
    >If it could talk to them, that would certainly be helpful
  118. 118.
    >Then again, if they couldn't communicate verbally, they might be required to teach the Entity
  119. 119.
    >First things first though, given it's shivering when it laid down, and the clothes it wore, it might be good to get it some proper bedding
  120. 120.
    >While this was a place to contain these types of things, you were far from cruel, and besides, if it turned out that the Entity had some hidden powers, things might go far better for both her, and the rest of the foundation to have treated it well
  121. 121.
    >No one wanted another "D-Day" Incident
  122. 122.
    >Pressing down on a button at her desk, the Unicorn spoke into a speaker, letting them know that SCP-1067 would be needing a bed
  123. 123.
     
  124. 124.
     
  125. 125.
    >Shifting about in bed, you awoke with a groan, feeling overly hot
  126. 126.
    >Glancing down, you could easily see you were still wearing your clothes, despite being under a blanket
  127. 127.
    >It was only by glancing up did you see the smooth stone wall your bed was pressed against
  128. 128.
    >When had you fallen asleep?
  129. 129.
    >You'd felt a bit tired earlier, but you didn't think it was that bad
  130. 130.
    >Was it them again?
  131. 131.
    >Why would they do it, though?
  132. 132.
    "The bed."
  133. 133.
    >You practically whispered, looking down at it
  134. 134.
    >If nothing else, that at least gave you the impression that you were important in some way
  135. 135.
    >Psychopaths wouldn't give you a comfortable bed to sleep in
  136. 136.
    >Had something happened to you, then?
  137. 137.
    >Were you in some kind of weird quarantine zone?
  138. 138.
    >You didn't feel all too strange, other that warm from sleeping in bed
  139. 139.
    >Speaking of which, you were feeling well rested if nothing else, so you got up, your eyes landing on a book left sitting on the ground
  140. 140.
    >Glancing around your room, and then up at the ceiling again, you stepped over to the book, bending down to pick it up, examining the rather plain cover
  141. 141.
    >There was a title of some kind on the cover, but you couldn't make heads or tails of the language
  142. 142.
    >Opening it up, you were greeted with a kind of cutesy...horse?
  143. 143.
    >It had it's hooves raised up into the air, a smile on it's overly-large face, it's big, colorful eyes sparkling
  144. 144.
    >It almost looked like a picture, but you simply shrugged it off, flipping to the next page
  145. 145.
    >Greeting you was a picture of a large apple, as well as a word written in whatever language this was
  146. 146.
    >A book to learn to read for children?
  147. 147.
    >Where the absolute fuck were you
  148. 148.
    "Well...no time like the present, I guess."
  149. 149.
    >Time to learn
  150. 150.
     
  151. 151.
    >Apple, bench, cheese, door, egg, flower, gold, hat, ice, jewel, kazoo, lantern, magnet, nail, oven, pail, quiver, recorder, safe, towel, ukulele, vase, watch, xylophone, yarn, zipper
  152. 152.
    >You recognized the somewhat cartoonish images, ,though the words still eluded you
  153. 153.
    >Still, when you compared the different words for each, the writing began to make more sense
  154. 154.
    >You started to recognize repetition between the spelling, noting what you thought might be one letter her, or another there
  155. 155.
    >It certainly wasn't easy, as it didn't quite flow like English, but you were making progress
  156. 156.
     
  157. 157.
    -----
  158. 158.
     
  159. 159.
    >A while into this process, your stomach growled, and you realized that it must have been at least 8 hours or so since you ate anything
  160. 160.
    >Getting up, you looked at the ceiling, shutting your eyes, hoping you were right and that they really were watching you from it
  161. 161.
    >Raising the book, you pointed to the apple, to your mouth, and then to your stomach, trying to say the word for apple aloud when you did
  162. 162.
    >A moment of silence passed, and then the voice from before returned
  163. 163.
    >You still couldn’t make heads or tails of what they were saying, but you hoped they got the point
  164. 164.
     
  165. 165.
     
  166. 166.
    >What felt like 10 minutes or so later, you heard a noise, one that was unlike the sound of the voice from the ceiling
  167. 167.
    >This was the sound of stone on stone, and when you looked to the source, you could see one of your walls shifting, sliding to the side, moving over until a door was revealed!
  168. 168.
    >The voice from above chimed in with a wary tone, and you tried to resist the urge to rush towards it
  169. 169.
    >It was your first glimpse at real freedom in a while
  170. 170.
    >Still, fortune would not favor you, a small hatch opening up instead, through which a singular, red apple slipped through, coming to a stop on the ground
  171. 171.
    >This might take some negotiating
  172. 172.
     
  173. 173.
    >Taking what you assumed to be the individual letters, you put together a rough statement
  174. 174.
    >You might have been completely off for all you knew, but if they wanted you to be able to speak whatever this language is, and were planning on only feeding you what you could tell them about, you'd need to learn and learn fast
  175. 175.
    >M E A T
  176. 176.
    >Thinking about how literal they'd been, you took the time to figure out how to say 'cooked meat', just to make sure to lessen the process
  177. 177.
    >Once you were ready, you looked back up at the lights, raising one hand to shield your eyes as you spoke
  178. 178.
    ["C O O K E D....M E A T"]
  179. 179.
    >It was awkward to say, and some aspects of it was guesswork, but it sounded sort of similar to the way the voice normally spoke
  180. 180.
    >Close enough for the voice to return, a hint of surprise to the way they spoke
  181. 181.
    >Whether that was a good thing or not was yet to be seen
  182. 182.
     
  183. 183.
    -----
  184. 184.
     
  185. 185.
    >In their office, the same green Unicorn quickly wrote down their latest discovery
  186. 186.
    >How exciting!
  187. 187.
    >The Entity had only had the book for an hour or two and it was already speaking!
  188. 188.
    >It was nearly incomprehensible, choppy gobbledygook, but still!
  189. 189.
    >Progress was being made!
  190. 190.
    >"At 2146, the Entity spoke it's first words. The Entity's level of intelligence is still unknown, but it is clear that the Entity is capable of taking literature and learning from it. Neither 'cooking' nor 'meat' is mentioned in the book. Therefor, the Entity was able to deduce the spelling of the individual words written down, break them down into the letters it needed, and rebuild them into the words it was seeking."
  191. 191.
    >She paused, looking back down at the strange thing, still staring up into the crystals above it
  192. 192.
    >A part of her was grateful it was shielding it's eyes
  193. 193.
    >"I would like to request a dialogue coach to teach the Entity to pronounce it's words correctly, as well as additional literature for it to study."
  194. 194.
    >Satisfied with that for the moment, she rolled the page up, sealed it, and sent it on it's way
  195. 195.
     
  196. 196.
    >Panic
  197. 197.
    >The Director wanted to handle this!
  198. 198.
    >The mare rapidly tidied her office, cleaning and clearing all she could
  199. 199.
    >She removed personal effects and hurriedly gathered additional papers, pencils, quills, and more
  200. 200.
    >She figured that she would simply be sent somepony who could handle dialogue and working with the Entity to help improve it's grasp on the language
  201. 201.
    >And yet, the Director wanted to come in and do it herself instead!
  202. 202.
    >Trying to calm herself, a serious look crossed the mare's face, one of determination and strength
  203. 203.
    >It soon fizzled, but it was enough to get her to calm down
  204. 204.
    >"Come on, get it together, you'll be fine! Just let her talk to it, and things will be fine."
  205. 205.
    >Feeling more self-assured, the mare settle down, waiting for the Director to arrive
  206. 206.
     
  207. 207.
    -----
  208. 208.
     
  209. 209.
    >You needed to ask about a bath at some point
  210. 210.
    >You'd gotten your food yesterday, and they'd given you another apple and steak today
  211. 211.
    >One that was made surprisingly well, all things considered
  212. 212.
    >That didn't change the fact that you'd been wearing the same clothes for probably three days now
  213. 213.
    >Going back to your book to figure out how to say that, you twitched as the voice spoke again
  214. 214.
    >They seemed nervous about something, and when the second voice spoke, you guessed what it was
  215. 215.
    >There were two now
  216. 216.
    >This second one spoke slower, and with a more authoritative tone, yet even as they did there was a hint of something else to them
  217. 217.
    >Like some kind of excitement they were trying to hold in
  218. 218.
    >Whatever the case, you needed to pose your question, and this was as good a time as any
  219. 219.
    >Lifting the book up, you pointed at the pail and spoke
  220. 220.
    ["B A T H?"]
  221. 221.
    >You hoped that was clear enough for them to understand
  222. 222.
    >You hadn't quite been expecting the new voice to respond with your word, repeating it back to you in the same way you'd said it
  223. 223.
    >["B A T H?"]
  224. 224.
    >Thank God you were good at charades
  225. 225.
     
  226. 226.
     
  227. 227.
    > You sat down on the ground, starting to gesture, turning invisible knobs, watching invisible water fill up the invisible tub you were sitting in
  228. 228.
    >You even grabbed some invisible soap and gestured like you were cleaning yourself, speaking your word as you did so
  229. 229.
    ["B A T H."]
  230. 230.
    >To which you got an immediate reply from voice #2, repeating what you said back at you
  231. 231.
    >["B A T H."]
  232. 232.
    >Unsure if you were being tested or not, you began to repeat your actions, and spoke again.
  233. 233.
    ["B A T H."]
  234. 234.
    >And again you got a response, only this time, it was a little faster, a touch more flow to it
  235. 235.
    >It was still recognizable as the word you'd said, just smoothed out a bit
  236. 236.
    >["BATH."]
  237. 237.
    ["BA TH."]
  238. 238.
    >["BATH."]
  239. 239.
    ["BATH."]
  240. 240.
    >["BATh."]
  241. 241.
    ["BATh."]
  242. 242.
    >["BA-th."]
  243. 243.
    ["BA-th?"]
  244. 244.
    >The two of you carried on your back-and-forth, repeating the word for 'bath' so many times that it began to lose all meaning, but you could feel yourself getting closer to the 'proper' way of saying it
  245. 245.
    >You could of sworn you heard some sort of weird, happy snort when you said the word back to them correctly
  246. 246.
    >Saying the word back softly to yourself, you could see why you'd been so thrown off by it before
  247. 247.
    >There was a bit of a musical quality to the word, with a hint of bluster in them, almost accentuating it
  248. 248.
    >It was familiar in a weird way, but you couldn't quite place it
  249. 249.
    >The more you thought about it, the emptier your room sounded, the repetition having become normal in it's own way, silence now seemed strange
  250. 250.
    >A small part of you found yourself longing for the voices to come back, for them not to leave you alone here
  251. 251.
    >Trying to think of something to say, you found you already knew
  252. 252.
    >Looking up at the lights, you began to mime a barbecue and some nondescript meat
  253. 253.
    ["C O O K E D M E A T?"]
  254. 254.
    >There was silence, and then voice #2 greeted you again, repeating
  255. 255.
    >["C O O K E D M E A T?"]
  256. 256.
    >It wasn't perfect, but it would do for now
  257. 257.
     
  258. 258.
    >You'd spent the rest of the day working, volunteering words and talking them over with voice #2
  259. 259.
    >You hadn't gotten anything other than food by the time you'd gone to bed
  260. 260.
    >You were aroused from your sleep by the sound of something heavy scraping against stone, and a muffled grunt of annoyance
  261. 261.
    >It wouldn't normally have been enough, but this experience had left you jumpy and, as nice as the voices sounded, you wanted out
  262. 262.
    >Rousing yourself, you looked up, catching a glimpse of what seemed to be two figures hunched over
  263. 263.
    >One had what you quickly registered as a flashlight illuminating the large object they were carrying
  264. 264.
    >Glancing over at the door, you saw that it was shut
  265. 265.
    >If you rushed it now, you'd more than likely find it was locked
  266. 266.
    >No, the best thing to do would be to pretend to be asleep and let your mysterious guests do what they came in here to do
  267. 267.
    >You listened to the sound of metal and stone, trying to keep your eyes shut, or close to that, not wanting them to spy you and guess your intentions
  268. 268.
    >When you heard them start to leave, you prepared yourself
  269. 269.
    >You didn't even question the odd, numerous sounds their footfalls created, you were focusing on the door
  270. 270.
    >The light had left the room, making it hard for you to see more than glimpses of the second person leaving the room but, as soon as they were about to head through the door, you sprang to life
  271. 271.
    >Surging from the bed, you whipped your blanket at the one by the door, not even bothering to think about how short he was, the blanket hitting him and distracting him for long enough for you to push past
  272. 272.
    >There was a second sort of room beyond yours, this one smaller, though the multiple doors were unlocked
  273. 273.
    >Bright lights were shining outside the room, and the sudden shift blinded you momentarily, forcing you to shut your eyes while you reached your arms out
  274. 274.
    >You could hear startled voices around you, but you staggered forwards towards where you'd glimpsed the open door, your eyes slowly adjusting
  275. 275.
     
  276. 276.
    >Colors strobing in your eyes, your sight still blurry as you began to move, your eyes beginning to recognize a large, barren hall, clean, smooth walls on all sides
  277. 277.
    >Around you you saw figures moving but they didn't look right
  278. 278.
    >They were too short and oddly colorful
  279. 279.
    >Were you being kept in some kind of farm or something?
  280. 280.
    >You were kept from your confusion by a jolt, sharp, tingling jolts spreading out through your back making you shudder and stumble, slamming up against a wall
  281. 281.
    >While it hurt, it wasn't enough to keep you down, and you whirled about, trying to get your eyes on what had attacked you, blinking away the last of your issues
  282. 282.
    >You found yourself looking down at a small pony, similar in shape to the one you'd seen in your book, though this one seemed more muscular, a thicker frame being exaggerated further by the body armor it wore
  283. 283.
    >Thick cloth covered its body with what looked like leather padding covering much of it's more vulnerable areas
  284. 284.
    >Attached to it's body by a belt was a sort of club, and atop it's head, there was a horn, one that was still glowing, sticking up from it's helmet
  285. 285.
    "What the fu-"
  286. 286.
    >You raised your hand up instinctively, just in time to block another blast from the small creature, your hand going numb as shocks ran up your arm
  287. 287.
    >The thing looked as surprised as you when you moved backwards, staying on your feet as you turned to run
  288. 288.
    >You weren't sure if it was the shocking, or the lights, or something in the air, but the hallway was occupied with tiny horses similar to that of the one you'd seen in the book, each of which was wearing varying degrees of clothing
  289. 289.
    >They were panicked, running from you, and in your addled state you realized that they must be running to someplace away from here
  290. 290.
    >Right about now, away from here sounded like the best option
  291. 291.
    >Pushing yourself off the wall, a bolt narrowly missed you, ricocheting off the wall and hitting a pony, bringing it to the ground
  292. 292.
    >Time to leave
  293. 293.
     
  294. 294.
    >Your long strides made it easy enough to keep up with the running creatures, but with all the shocks you’d taken from whatever science freakshow robot thing that guard had come from, you were definitely slowing down
  295. 295.
    >You hardly registered the other doors scatter along the wall as you moved, glancing back to see two of those weird guard things chasing you
  296. 296.
    >You really should have been looking where you were going though, as something solid slammed into your gut, knocking the wind out of you and sending you down to the ground
  297. 297.
    >Gasping for air, you started to try and get up, only to feel something like little hooves stomp down on your back with a surprising amount of force, keeping you pinned
  298. 298.
    >Christ, you weren’t going to die to a bunch of animals, were you?
  299. 299.
    >As you choked down air though, you noticed yourself getting heavier by the second, exhaustion sinking in
  300. 300.
    >Or was it?
  301. 301.
    >Looking at the other two, strange creatures, you noticed they had what looked like crude gas masks on
  302. 302.
    >So it was a chemical then?
  303. 303.
    >You really hoped it wasn’t messing with your body or anything
  304. 304.
    >You passed out to the sound of Voice #2 saying something unintelligible
  305. 305.
     
  306. 306.
    -----
  307. 307.
     
  308. 308.
    >You woke up in your bed, sore spots all over your body
  309. 309.
    >The door was shut, there were no mysterious animals around, and now you had a bath tub and a stack of books
  310. 310.
    >Groaning, you climbed free of your blankets, making your way over to the tub, your hands grabbing you shirt to lift it when you heard voice #2
  311. 311.
    >You couldn’t understand everything, but you picked out what seemed to be rather crucial words
  312. 312.
    >[“You”], [“I”], [“Need”], [“Talk”]
  313. 313.
    >You agreed with that, though you didn’t say it
  314. 314.
    >All you wanted was to soak the pain away
  315. 315.
    >Turning the tap, you were surprised to see plenty of hot water flowing into the tub
  316. 316.
    >You decided to ignore the questions of why they would let you have this and focused instead on getting the tub full
  317. 317.
    >You could question things later
  318. 318.
     
  319. 319.
    >The same mint green unicorn as before hoped her blush wasn’t noticeable as she watched the Entity disrobe, slowly removing its clothes to bathe
  320. 320.
    >She winced when she noticed the bruised and inflamed areas
  321. 321.
    >While she took notes, the Director paced from one wall to the other and back again, making tight oval shapes, muttering quietly to herself
  322. 322.
    >They’d both shared the office when the containment breach occurred and, while there had been only one pony-related injury, this was not a good sign
  323. 323.
    >The further this went on, the more intelligent the Entity was seen to be
  324. 324.
    >Not only that, but it had been surprisingly resistant to those blasts, while a single one had downed a pony
  325. 325.
    >If magic wouldn’t work that well on it, they couldn’t over-use the more mundane tools, such as the gas they’d been using to knock it out for the last few days
  326. 326.
    >No, there was only one thing to do
  327. 327.
    >[“I’m going to have to talk to 1067.”]
  328. 328.
    >The Director said, prompting a swift response from her employee
  329. 329.
    >[“Talk to it? With all due respect, Director, do you think it’s wise for you to interact with 1067 so freely? We still don’t know much about its methods, means, or even desires. Not only that, but it likes to eat meat!”]
  330. 330.
    >The Director rolled her eyes at that, her pacing stopped as she looked over
  331. 331.
    >[“Yes, as do other intelligent races. If I go, 1067 might find comfort in a familiar voice, and besides, of everypony here, the two of us know it best. If it wanted to hurt us, it would have done so during the panic of it’s attempted escape.”]
  332. 332.
    >She took a moment to think about that
  333. 333.
    >Given its large size, it wouldn’t have been too hard to grab up ponies left and right, and with the shocks it’d taken, the Entity might very well have been able to claim the lives of a few ponies before being forced back into its cell
  334. 334.
    >Yet it hadn’t, a fact that relieved the green mare, both because she didn’t want other pony’s to be hurt, and for some other reason she couldn’t quite explain
  335. 335.
     
  336. 336.
    >[“Alright, but I’m going to request at least two guards.”]
  337. 337.
    >She said, smiling slightly when the Director nodded in agreement
  338. 338.
    >[“That seems reasonable to me. Hopefully they won’t be needed. Considering how panicked 1067 looked on the footage, we really don't need it to be any more agitated, especially if it turns out that it IS from another world."]
  339. 339.
    >That thought hadn't occurred to the Unicorn, glancing down at the image on the screen of the Entity sinking into it's bath, a look of pained contentment on it's face
  340. 340.
    >What if the thing they were holding here was no different from anypony else, just from another place?
  341. 341.
    >Sure, it might look...off, but still, being slightly unsettling was hardly a crime, and especially not one worthy of keeping it here
  342. 342.
    >At that thought, she perked up, glancing over at the Director who was wearing a similar look
  343. 343.
    >["Do you think...it might be possible to make friends with it, Director?"]
  344. 344.
    >The Unicorn asked, looking into the Director's eyes
  345. 345.
    >They seemed almost warmer now, the trained professionalism the high-ranking Mare had about her slipping some as she considered the question
  346. 346.
    >["I suppose that's what I'm hoping to find out~"]
  347. 347.
     
  348. 348.
    -----
  349. 349.
     
  350. 350.
    >After setting the schedule up for tomorrow's interview of sorts, the Director headed home, eager to relax in bed
  351. 351.
    >It had been a long day at the facility, and while she might enjoy writing reports, as well as giving them, it was always nerve-wracking to have to deal with a containment breach
  352. 352.
    >Thankfully, nopony had been seriously injured, so she could rest easy
  353. 353.
    >Laying down in bed, she shut her eyes, drifting off to sleep
  354. 354.
    >Or, she would have, had she not decided to gather a few more books to read in bed before going to sleep
  355. 355.
    >One could never be too well-informed after all
  356. 356.
     
  357. 357.
    >You weren't entirely certain as to when you'd gotten into bed, but you found yourself being awoken by a buzzing sound
  358. 358.
    >Sitting up, you looked around the room before staring at the door
  359. 359.
    >The buzzing stopped then, making you wonder if it had been intentional
  360. 360.
    >They hadn't woken you up before, after all, but then, you hadn't tried to escape until yesterday
  361. 361.
    >Was this some form of punishment?
  362. 362.
    >Whatever it was, it'd be best to be fully dressed
  363. 363.
    >Getting up, you made your way to the tub, covering yourself as you grabbed your freshly "washed" clothes
  364. 364.
    >You still only had the one set after all, and since they'd let you have plenty of water, it seemed like a good idea to clean them
  365. 365.
    >You pulled your shirt on, only to hear an unfamiliar sound coming from the door
  366. 366.
    >Locks being unlocked
  367. 367.
    >So this was it, then, the “talk” your captors wanted to have
  368. 368.
    >When no one came to get you, you hesitated, looking towards the door, wondering if this was some sort of test
  369. 369.
    >They might not want to keep you around if you tried to escape again, after all
  370. 370.
    >Then again, nothing would be gained by hanging around in your cell
  371. 371.
    >Choices
  372. 372.
    >While a part of you was sure you’d regret this, you forced yourself to walk up to the door, flinching as it opened on it’s own, and stepped through
  373. 373.
    >On the other side was a separate room, a large glass wall sitting in front of a desk of sorts
  374. 374.
    >More crystals dotted the edges of the glass, and beside it sat an unopened door
  375. 375.
    >You flinched again when the door shut behind you
  376. 376.
    >You stood there for a moment before moving over to the chair in front of the window, sitting down, only to find yourself staring through the glass at
  377. 377.
    >Why were you looking at another cartoon pony?
  378. 378.
    >And why was it flanked on the sides of the room by two of those guard-looking ones
  379. 379.
    “Not this shit again...”
  380. 380.
    >As nice as it was to have something else to look at, you really didn’t think you could handle more of these weird-ass pony things
  381. 381.
     
  382. 382.
     
  383. 383.
    >You started to get up, only to hear the familiar sound of Voice #2 speaking
  384. 384.
    >[“Please sit.”], [“Need”], [“Discuss.”]
  385. 385.
    >Only this time, it wasn’t coming from above, but through the glass
  386. 386.
    >Quickly stopping, you turned your head, looking back at the thing beyond the glass
  387. 387.
    >It stared back at you, a serious expression on it’s face
  388. 388.
    >You sat back down, looking up as you spoke, still unsure as to where Voice #2 was talking from now
  389. 389.
    [“Where you?”]
  390. 390.
    >Your answer came from beyond the glass and, as you looked back down to it, you had a horrible moment of realization as you watched the pony-thing speak
  391. 391.
    >[“I”], [“here”], [“You”], [Not see”], [“me?”]
  392. 392.
    >Oh no
  393. 393.
    >No no no this isn’t happening
  394. 394.
    >Pushing back, you stood up, the thing on the other side’s already huge eyes widening further, it’s eyes shrinking down as you moved, though it didn’t pull away from it’s seated position
  395. 395.
    “How the shit are you speaking? Why am I speaking to a horse? Where are the people?”
  396. 396.
    >[“Calm”], [“not”], [“understand”], [“you.”]
  397. 397.
    >There was a radio
  398. 398.
    >Something, anything
  399. 399.
    >It was either that, or they were putting people’s brains into pony things and you really didn’t want to think about the ramifications of that right now
  400. 400.
    >They were just messing with you
  401. 401.
    >Well two could play at that
  402. 402.
    >You sat back down again, feeling a whole lot more confident, looking into those big eyes as they settled back to normal
  403. 403.
    >Well as normal as big, purple eyes could be
  404. 404.
    [“Where I?”]
  405. 405.
    >You asked, your talking in this weird, made-up language enough to get a smile out of the thing across from you
  406. 406.
    >[“Equestria.”]
  407. 407.
    >Equestrian? You were pretty sure that’s what it said
  408. 408.
    >What she said?
  409. 409.
    >She sounded like a girl, at least
  410. 410.
    >Her answer didn’t really answer your question, but whatever, they were messing with you
  411. 411.
    >Maybe this was the test
  412. 412.
    >[“Where”], [“you from?”]
  413. 413.
    [“Earth.”]
  414. 414.
     
  415. 415.
    > That seemed to make her happy too
  416. 416.
    >A shared word, perhaps?
  417. 417.
    >It is a pretty important name, after all
  418. 418.
    >[“What”], [“you?”]
  419. 419.
    >You weren’t entirely sure how to answer that, but given it’s a proper name, you figured your way of saying it would be fine for now
  420. 420.
    “Human.”
  421. 421.
    >You gestured to yourself to make your point, but it was a little odd how it looked like she was examining you
  422. 422.
    >It certainly didn’t look like a random decision after all
  423. 423.
    >Fuck, you really didn’t want to think about these things as being actually intelligent
  424. 424.
    >[“You”], [“Earth Hyooman?”]
  425. 425.
    “No, I’m a space Human.”
  426. 426.
    >You replied, rolling your eyes
  427. 427.
    >[“Not”], [“understand”]
  428. 428.
    >Okay, one of you needed to pick up the other’s language soon because hearing that every time you spoke normally was going to get old fast
  429. 429.
    [“Joke.”]
  430. 430.
    >[“Ah.”]
  431. 431.
    >Okay, yep, that clinched it
  432. 432.
    >The fact that she looked sheepish after that, the way she was moving around
  433. 433.
    >She was definitely intelligent
  434. 434.
    >That of course created a whole new problem
  435. 435.
    >WHY IS THERE AN INTELLIGENT PONY-THING TALKING TO YOU?
  436. 436.
    >Before you continued on this train of thought, she spoke again
  437. 437.
    >She looked like she was having trouble thinking of a way to phrase it, eventually coming up with
  438. 438.
    >[“Sky hyoomans?”]
  439. 439.
    >Sky Humans?
  440. 440.
    >What, like angels?
  441. 441.
    >You weren’t entirely certain you were in the right state of mind to try and explain life and death to what should be a dumb animal
  442. 442.
    >Wait, it might mean people in planes and helicopters
  443. 443.
    [“Sky Humans.”]
  444. 444.
    >You said, nodding confidently, quirking a brow as she seemed to grow even more excited
  445. 445.
    >Well, an animal would probably be relieved to-
  446. 446.
    >Wait
  447. 447.
    >Big head, big eyes, strange language, bizarre holding cells, laser blasts
  448. 448.
    >Had you been fucking abducted?
  449. 449.
     
  450. 450.
    >Time to go over the facts
  451. 451.
    >She didn’t know what the name of the planet was
  452. 452.
    >She didn’t know what you were
  453. 453.
    >She wanted to know about “flying machines” or whatever
  454. 454.
    >Was this a test of how advanced you were as a species or something?
  455. 455.
    >You quickly glanced down at her ‘hooves’ and said a silent prayer that she didn’t want to ‘probe’ you
  456. 456.
    >Fuck, not only that, but were you even on Earth any more?
  457. 457.
    >What if they’d grabbed you and put you on one of their ships?
  458. 458.
    >You could be anywhere by now!
  459. 459.
    >Fuck!
  460. 460.
     
  461. 461.
    -----
  462. 462.
     
  463. 463.
    >The Director watched as 1067 began to panic
  464. 464.
    >She tried to speak to it, but it simply ignored her, growing more and more agitated
  465. 465.
    >She’d been making such good progress too!
  466. 466.
    >They’d been talking and, despite their admittedly limited comprehension of one another, she’d learned of some similarities between their worlds
  467. 467.
    >Perhaps 1067 wasn’t as otherworldly as they’d thought it to be
  468. 468.
    >Still, with them as unsure of it’s capabilities as they were, the Director gave the order, the two guards she had with her entering the room to bring 1067 back into it’s holding cell
  469. 469.
    >She’d made sure they were Earth Ponies too, not wanting similar issues as to the containment breach
  470. 470.
    >While 1067 had struggled to reach the door, the guards had been trained hard, one of them alone enough to stop even a Bugbear
  471. 471.
    >With their joint effort, they managed to get him past the door, the metal barrier shutting, sealing 1067 inside yet again
  472. 472.
    >Once it was sequestered away yet again, the Director went through the necessary decontamination and debriefing steps, before finally coming to rest in her office
  473. 473.
    >Try as she might, she couldn’t think of a proper reason behind why 1067 might have become agitated
  474. 474.
    >She ordered copies of all recorded footage of 1067 to be brought to her office for her to review, an idea beginning to form in her head
  475. 475.
    >While it learned their language, she would learn it’s
  476. 476.
    >Communication, one of the first steps to making a new friend
  477. 477.
     
  478. 478.
    ---- (https://desuarchive.org/mlp/thread/32058427/#32081357)
  479. 479.
     
  480. 480.
    >Three days passed, and you were beginning to grow more despondent as time drew on
  481. 481.
    >As terrifying as your situation might be, you also didn’t want to piss off the things keeping you around
  482. 482.
    >So you practiced, but it was still slow-going
  483. 483.
    >And not being able to really communicate with anyone, not properly at least, was getting to you
  484. 484.
    >You could only go so long without real interaction
  485. 485.
    >That was why you were surprised to hear the same buzzing noise from before when you woke up the next morning
  486. 486.
    >As you had before, you put on your clothes and made your way over to the door, watching it open before stepping through
  487. 487.
    >You saw the glass window and the metal door when you passed through, as well as the desk and chair
  488. 488.
    >When you sat down, you even saw the same purple pony-thing sitting on the opposite side
  489. 489.
    >It was admittedly hard to tell if the guards were the same or not but you weren’t too worried about that
  490. 490.
    >In actuality, you found your eyes being drawn to the purple one, looking her up and down
  491. 491.
    >She looked frazzled, like she hadn’t slept much, her hair (mane?) brushed into submission, though small curls stood defiantly
  492. 492.
    >Well, bedraggled alien or no, it paid to be courteous
  493. 493.
    [“You morning good?”]
  494. 494.
    >Not your best work you’d admit
  495. 495.
    >Still, she didn’t seem to mind, still smiling at you
  496. 496.
    >It was pretty easy to notice the big breath in she took, so you mentally prepared yourself to catch as much of what she sa-
  497. 497.
    >”My morning was good. Thank you, Anonymous!”
  498. 498.
    >What
  499. 499.
    “What?”
  500. 500.
    >”What?”
  501. 501.
     
  502. 502.
    >You sat across from the small, purple pony, shock and confusion no doubt evident on your face as you tried to understand what just happened
  503. 503.
    Your mind soon wrangled an eloquent sentence to say
  504. 504.
    “You can speak?”
  505. 505.
    >Pausing before realizing what you’d missed, you added it on before she could blow your mind again
  506. 506.
    “English, I mean!”
  507. 507.
    >There was that relief again, the Pony’s shoulders dropping while the smile on her face returned to full force
  508. 508.
    >You didn’t even care that this made it feel like your effort to learn the language before was entirely pointless
  509. 509.
    >Nor did you care that she was mispronouncing some words/sentences, and was clearly shaky on some others
  510. 510.
    >”It’s English?”
  511. 511.
    “Yeah, English! Have you been able to speak this whole time? English, speak English.”
  512. 512.
    >Her horn began to glow, and for a second there you thought she might have been about to shock you like the guard had from before, only to see a notepad levitate up and onto the desk on her side, along with a pencil, both of which were enshrouded in a glowing aura
  513. 513.
    >Telekinesis?
  514. 514.
    >Maybe that was why these aliens’ heads were this big
  515. 515.
    >You watches as she furiously wrote with her mind, looking at the paper before her eyes snapped back up to you
  516. 516.
    >Man it was disconcerting watching those big eyes shift to stare into yours, especially when she was so casually showing off her powers
  517. 517.
    >”So you are Earth Human?”
  518. 518.
    “Wha- Uh, yeah.”
  519. 519.
    >You’d almost forgotten that you were still a captive here and you were still having questions asked of you
  520. 520.
    >That sullied the mood considerably, and she seemed to notice your gloom return
  521. 521.
    >”What’s wrong?”
  522. 522.
    >What was wrong?
  523. 523.
    “Oh well first the airline food was bland, and that awful turbulence!”
  524. 524.
    >Her blank expression let you know your attempt at exasperated humor hadn’t breached the language gap, apparently
  525. 525.
    “What do you think is wrong?”
  526. 526.
    >You might have snapped that one out, but you felt you deserved to be a little upset after all this
  527. 527.
     
  528. 528.
    >”I do not know. That is what I want to find out by talking to you. Can we talk?”
  529. 529.
    >She was trying to be as clear and easy to understand as possible
  530. 530.
    >Despite everything though, you found yourself almost wanting to talk
  531. 531.
    >Were you really that starved for affection?
  532. 532.
    >Sure, you hadn’t exactly been the most beloved guy back home, but you weren’t “getting locked up in a box” bad either
  533. 533.
    >You'd had friends!
  534. 534.
    >At least one!
  535. 535.
    >Then again, considering your position, who knew when you'd get the chance to even talk to anyone from back home
  536. 536.
    >You could be well and truly alone out here, aside from these Aliens
  537. 537.
    >Alone in a box
  538. 538.
    >"Anonymous?"
  539. 539.
    >Hey...
  540. 540.
    "How do you know my name?"
  541. 541.
    >It was the second time she'd used it, after all
  542. 542.
    >"Oh, I read it off of one of the items we found near you."
  543. 543.
    >Items?
  544. 544.
    "Do you mean my wallet?"
  545. 545.
    >"Yes, we found a small card with a photograph of you on it. It also had helpful information."
  546. 546.
    >Your driver's license!
  547. 547.
    >If that had come over here, had everything you had on you made it too?
  548. 548.
    >The wallet would be nice to have but you had something else in mind
  549. 549.
    "Was that all you found?"
  550. 550.
    >She tilted her head, a look of interest growing on her face, one she was either unable, or not caring, to hide
  551. 551.
    >"Yes, we found more. What are you looking for?"
  552. 552.
    "It's a sort of a metal and glass rectangle? It might even have some wires coming out of it?"
  553. 553.
    >You waited as she thought about your description for a moment before nodding and looking back at you
  554. 554.
    >"Yes. It had buttons and there were wires near it. Is it important?"
  555. 555.
    >A part of you told yourself you should lie, but you decided against it
  556. 556.
    >Considering you'd been abducted or something by Aliens, they might already know what it does and are just testing to see if you'd lie to them about it
  557. 557.
    "It is. It has music and pictures from home on it. Please, can I have it?"
  558. 558.
    >Another thought for her to mull over
  559. 559.
    >You hadn't noticed it, but her pencil had been going for much of this
  560. 560.
    >Her abilities really were scary
  561. 561.
     
  562. 562.
    >Finally, she nodded, looking up and into your eyes with an eager intensity
  563. 563.
    >She seemed a little too excited about this
  564. 564.
    >"Okay, you can have it back but-"
  565. 565.
    >Of course
  566. 566.
    >"You will need to be under direct sur...survie...watch when you interact with it so that we can make sure it is harml...safe."
  567. 567.
    >It was comforting, in a way, that even an Alien with telekinesis, authority, and the ability to rapidly figure out English could still stumble and be confused
  568. 568.
    "That's okay, it's harmless."
  569. 569.
    >"Harm-less."
  570. 570.
    >She repeated the word to herself, pencil slowing for a moment before scribbling rapidly again
  571. 571.
    "So...you had more questions?"
  572. 572.
    >That had left you in considerably higher spirits
  573. 573.
    >Sure, this was no penthouse, but they'd actually decided to let you have your phone back!
  574. 574.
    >It wasn't home, but it was a memory of it
  575. 575.
    >"Anonymous?"
  576. 576.
    "Yes?"
  577. 577.
    >"That was not it, right?"
  578. 578.
    "What do you mean?"
  579. 579.
    >"You seemed upset about more than your block..."
  580. 580.
    >Looking at her, she seemed stuck between her question-asking enthusiasm and some kind of desire to help
  581. 581.
    >Should you tell her?
  582. 582.
    >She'd yet to be harsh or cruel with you
  583. 583.
    >You'd been given quarters, a bed, a bath, food, books
  584. 584.
    >Even after you tried to escape, they hadn't done much to you
  585. 585.
    "I guess I'm just..."
  586. 586.
    >Say it, you pansy!
  587. 587.
    "When can I go home?"
  588. 588.
    >Wow, she looked almost as sad as you after that
  589. 589.
    >Her ears drooped, but she tried to keep looking at you
  590. 590.
    >"Well, hopefully we can figure out some way of getting you there."
  591. 591.
    "What, do you only have enough fuel to get home or something?"
  592. 592.
    >"Fuel? I am sorry, Anonymous, but I do not know what you mean."
  593. 593.
    "Your ship, or whatever you guys call it, the stuff that makes it go?"
  594. 594.
    >Man, these Aliens are expressive
  595. 595.
    >You'd just prefer her to look something other than confused right now
  596. 596.
    >"A...boat? Can you try saying it in Ponian?"
  597. 597.
    "fine."
  598. 598.
    ["Space ship. No gas?"]
  599. 599.
    >Her expression deepened, a fact that made you worry even more
  600. 600.
    >"Anonymous, we do not have a 'sky boat'. What do you know of your arrival here?"
  601. 601.
    "Well..."
  602. 602.
     
  603. 603.
    >All the Director really wanted was to head home and sleep, but she had more work to do
  604. 604.
    >Doing her job, her other duties, and maintaining her social life was more of a strain than she'd originally imagined it to be
  605. 605.
    >Plus, now she had papers to fill out for a test with Anonymous' strange block tomorrow
  606. 606.
    >It was a little short notice, but she considered it to be important for them to study
  607. 607.
    >Anonymous was from a whole other world, if not dimension, after all!
  608. 608.
    >Thinking back, she replayed the recordings of their conversation, listening, and watching Anonymous' reaction as she explained how he'd been found
  609. 609.
    >She left out specific details of who, where, when, and how
  610. 610.
    >She'd been doing this long enough she could [REDACTED] her words as she spoke them
  611. 611.
    >But the moment when Anonymous realized he hadn't been brought here on purpose was almost heart breaking
  612. 612.
    >It certainly made hers ache
  613. 613.
    >It wasn't hard to understand either, especially since he claimed to want to return home
  614. 614.
    >To be forcefully taken from your home and dropped into some unfamiliar place
  615. 615.
    >How awful
  616. 616.
    >...
  617. 617.
    >Then again, what if he was lying?
  618. 618.
    >He certainly wouldn't be the first
  619. 619.
    >She had to make sure she didn't become too emotionally invested
  620. 620.
    >Considering that, she quickly wrote a note to herself, to remind her to check for enhanced pheromones or anything of the like while near Anonymous
  621. 621.
    >Whatever the case, she'd have to be the one to interact with him verbally until he could figure out more Ponian, or other Ponies learned "English"
  622. 622.
     
  623. 623.
    ----- (https://desuarchive.org/mlp/thread/32166831/#32171184)
  624. 624.
     
  625. 625.
    >time rolled around, and a pair of guard ponies flanked a familiar green-furred mare towards Anonymous' containment unit
  626. 626.
    >She was glad to be doing this than dealing with other Entities
  627. 627.
    >Strange as he was, she couldn't help but be interested by him
  628. 628.
    >It seemed like the Director had had similar thoughts when she mentioned the possibility of enhanced pheromones, or some other sort of attraction-based lure
  629. 629.
    >Unlocking the first door, they proceeded into the meeting area, and then through the door there to Anonymous'
  630. 630.
    >With their surveillance, they already knew he was awake, but they gave him two minutes upon being alerted to prepare himself
  631. 631.
    >When the time was up, they headed in, finding him standing there, waiting eagerly for them
  632. 632.
     
  633. 633.
    -----
  634. 634.
     
  635. 635.
    >You watched as the pony stepped inside with the cart, the guards sealing the door behind her, leaving just you, and the skittish-looking pony alone
  636. 636.
    >Well, not quite alone, given whoever might be watching from above
  637. 637.
    [“Hi.”]
  638. 638.
    >[“Hello!”]
  639. 639.
    >She squeaked her reply out, looking all the more embarrassed thanks to it
  640. 640.
    >Still, the fact that she was embarrassed put you at ease
  641. 641.
    >The more Human these things seemed, the better
  642. 642.
    >It gave you hope that you might get out of here eventually
  643. 643.
    >Speaking of getting things
  644. 644.
    >She pressed her hoof down onto the top of the large, black box on the cart, turning her leg one way, then another
  645. 645.
    >It almost looked like a person turning a key
  646. 646.
    >Click
  647. 647.
    >The front of the box swung open, and there inside was your phone
  648. 648.
    >Carefully, you reached in, fingers finding the cool metal and glass
  649. 649.
    >You brushed against the “wires” of your headphones, taking a firm hold on your things, drawing them out
  650. 650.
    >Raising it up to your face, you examined it’s screen, and then the rest of it, looking for any obvious signs of damage
  651. 651.
    >When none were found, you let out a sigh you hadn’t realized you were holding back
  652. 652.
    >Turning the screen back around to face you, you looked into it the darkness, seeing yourself reflected in it
  653. 653.
    >Moment of truth
  654. 654.
     
  655. 655.
    >You were met with the reflection of yourself
  656. 656.
    >Nothing had changed
  657. 657.
    >Growing worried, you pressed the button again
  658. 658.
    >Again you got no reaction
  659. 659.
    >You held the button down, giving it five, then ten, then thirty seconds
  660. 660.
    >It was dead
  661. 661.
    >No lights, no warning, nothing
  662. 662.
    >The screen remained dark and you remained alone
  663. 663.
    >You couldn’t even tell if it was broken or not
  664. 664.
    >Not only that, but considering they had no clue what this even was, the odds of them being able to charge or repair it seemed slim to none
  665. 665.
    >You didn’t even have the energy to groan about this as you sat down on your bed
  666. 666.
    >You felt tired
  667. 667.
    >Even after a night’s rest, the weight of everything that had happened was really hitting you
  668. 668.
    >This had been a last bastion of hope
  669. 669.
    >And now it was gone
  670. 670.
    >A few minutes must have passed before you, dejectedly staring down at the floor, remembered that you weren’t alone in here
  671. 671.
    >Your head snapped up, staring right into the eyes of the mint green, labcoat-wearing mare by the door
  672. 672.
    >You must have looked pissed or something because she flinched just from you staring at her
  673. 673.
    >There was some rage there, it’s true, but you could scarcely bring yourself to care
  674. 674.
    >You were something to be examined to them
  675. 675.
    >An alien
  676. 676.
    >You didn’t belong
  677. 677.
    >Letting your head hang, you just sat there, not wanting to think of anything for the next while
  678. 678.
    >It was only after a few minutes more that you felt something lightly press against your thigh
  679. 679.
    >The Human looked sad
  680. 680.
    >Really sad
  681. 681.
    >The mint mare had seen this kind of sad before, and it felt as bad to watch now as it did then
  682. 682.
    >She hoped she hadn’t been too obviously startled when Human looked at her
  683. 683.
    >He’d just looked so angry and lost
  684. 684.
    >The mint mare wasn’t much of a cheerer-upper
  685. 685.
    >She wasn’t the softest or quietest of ponies
  686. 686.
    >She was good at her job, and at caring about her friends
  687. 687.
    >And she’d been watching Anonymous for a while now
  688. 688.
    >He wasn’t like many of the other entities here
  689. 689.
    >Shifting from her spot, she moved towards him
  690. 690.
     
  691. 691.
    >Anonymous seemed surprised to feel her touching him
  692. 692.
    >She couldn’t say she was all that surprised. He didn’t really get much contact in here
  693. 693.
    >Considering that, as well as his claimed interest in his homeworld, he might be far more of a social creature than they’d considered
  694. 694.
    >Maybe they should organize more visits?
  695. 695.
    >Going off the records, he’d been pretty eager to talk to The Director when he found out she could speak his language
  696. 696.
    >Wait, what was he-
  697. 697.
    >She’d been too distracted with her thoughts on how to better accommodate him
  698. 698.
    >She hadn’t noticed his arms moving until she felt one begin to wrap around her barrel
  699. 699.
    >Some odd, limb-like things squeezed her, things she quickly came to register as the digits connected to the ends of his arms
  700. 700.
    >Fingers, the Minotaurs called them
  701. 701.
    >Whatever the case, they squeezed her, dragging her up, into the air before drawing her in close
  702. 702.
    >Fear flooded her in an instant
  703. 703.
    >Had this all been an act?
  704. 704.
    >He wouldn’t be the first entity housed here alone that used deception to lure it’s victims in
  705. 705.
    >He had canines
  706. 706.
    >He ate meat
  707. 707.
    >They were alone. The guards would take a few seconds to get through the door at least
  708. 708.
    >She started to kick her legs, flailing ineffectively at the open air as both his arms and hands wrapped around her, pressing her backwards against his chest
  709. 709.
    >She shut her eyes, waiting for it to happen, the bite, or the crushing squeeze or, whatever
  710. 710.
    >When it didn’t come, she slowly peeked at him
  711. 711.
    >It was a little hard to see his head, though she felt it lower, giving her a chance
  712. 712.
    >Of course, that chance came in the form of his head resting against her neck
  713. 713.
    >Once again she was thankful his eyes were shut
  714. 714.
    >Also, WOW he was warm!
  715. 715.
    >This...
  716. 716.
    >This actually wasn’t that bad
  717. 717.
    >Lifting her hoof up, she stopped the guards, who had just opened the door back up, from coming any closer
  718. 718.
    >This was progress and they weren’t going to spoil it
  719. 719.
     
  720. 720.
    >She didn’t know how long they stayed there like that
  721. 721.
    >Anonymous seemed like he really needed it
  722. 722.
    >Also, he was a whole lot stronger than he appeared
  723. 723.
    >Eventually, he let her go and she slipped from his lap and onto the ground, landing on her hooves
  724. 724.
    >Sure, she’d need to get checked out in a decontamination room, but either way, this had been incredible!
  725. 725.
    >While she was primarily interested in the fact that Anonymous had been more open with her, she couldn’t deny that they’d learned a lot from this encounter
  726. 726.
    >Undoubtedly, the Director would be interested in reading her report
  727. 727.
    >In yet another moment of her being distracted by thinking, she felt those same digits from before come to rest on her head, gently rubbing her
  728. 728.
    >Turning, the "hand" not leaving her mane and scalp, she looked up at Anonymous
  729. 729.
    >Even sitting down, he was tall
  730. 730.
    ["Thanks."]
  731. 731.
    >It was simple and still a bit rough, yet there was a real sincerity to it
  732. 732.
    >Maybe he did have some sort of attraction based aura or scent to him
  733. 733.
    >But that?
  734. 734.
    >She knew in her heart that was genuine
  735. 735.
    >Something inside the pony swelled, but she tried to ignore it, not wanting to ruin this strange, kind moment the two of them were sharing
  736. 736.
    >She didn't even mind his eyes that much
  737. 737.
    >"Yer welcoom."
  738. 738.
    >She wasn't sure what she'd said to make him snicker like that, but he wasn't upset
  739. 739.
    >He ruffled her mane, then took his hand away, placing it back down and onto the bed
  740. 740.
    >considering the moment, the mare wondered if she should ask him a question or two
  741. 741.
    >He seemed decidedly less on-edge than he usually did
  742. 742.
    >She'd even try in his language
  743. 743.
    >Here's to hoping she didn't screw it up
  744. 744.
    >"Anonee...Anonymoose?"
  745. 745.
    >Another snicker, but he was smiling now
  746. 746.
    >"Yes?"
  747. 747.
    >Alright, moment of truth
  748. 748.
    >She needed to be direct, yet also careful in her approach
  749. 749.
    >Anonym...Anonynym...Anon, often became upset while being asked questions
  750. 750.
    >Keep it simple
  751. 751.
    >She looked back up into his eyes as she spoke
  752. 752.
    >"Was it...good for you too?"
  753. 753.
     
  754. 754.
    >From her spot in her office, the Director read over one of the latest reports she’d received on Anonymous
  755. 755.
    >She paused for a moment, considering what it meant that she defaulted to his given name, even when alone, and not his classification number
  756. 756.
    >He wasn’t the only case where she used given names as opposed to the more cold, clinical numbers
  757. 757.
    >But she had begun doing it quite quickly, which was slightly worrying
  758. 758.
    >Looking back at the report, as well as the decontamination log, she didn’t see anything that immediately suggested magic, or drug-related contamination
  759. 759.
    >They couldn’t rule out the possibility that they simply didn’t know that much about Anonymous yet
  760. 760.
    >Looking back at the report, she went through most of the newer points that had been made
  761. 761.
    >Anonymous appeared to be, due to his body heat, skin, muscles, mane, and other pre-notated facts, mammalian
  762. 762.
    >Anonymous’ “arms” and “hands” were similar to those of a Minotaur, but he had more dextrous control over his digits
  763. 763.
    >Not only that, but his hands were softer, less coarse and rough than those of the average Minotaur
  764. 764.
    >Anonymous’ block did not appear to work, a fact that made him sad
  765. 765.
    >The Director sighed, Anonymous being sad seemed to be a staple of his time here
  766. 766.
    >Though, given what had been seen of his latest visit, there might be a way to fix that
  767. 767.
    >Her horn glowed as she wrote
  768. 768.
    >While she wouldn’t be able to meet Anonymous face-to-face, so to speak, due to protocols and risks, she could still send others who were willing in
  769. 769.
    >If this footage, and record, was accurate, they should be able to safely interact with him
  770. 770.
    >Not only that, but he was more receptive to questions, which were vital to their understanding and evaluating him
  771. 771.
    >They’d gotten some information out, but it was mostly surface level
  772. 772.
    >What was his world like?
  773. 773.
    >What was the block supposed to do?
  774. 774.
    >What would he do when faced with the fact that he might never be able to go home?
  775. 775.
     
  776. 776.
     
  777. 777.
    >The next few day came around and about halfway through it, you had another visit
  778. 778.
    >The same mint mare as before walked into the room, smiling over at you
  779. 779.
    >It looked genuine enough, and with how lonely things could get in here, you appreciated it
  780. 780.
    [“Sorry no chair. Bed?”]
  781. 781.
    >You gestured, sitting down on the sheets
  782. 782.
    >You noticed her glance upwards, a look of hesitation crossing her face, but she adjusted quickly, nodding and trotting over
  783. 783.
    >With a small jump, she was on the bed, sitting down beside you
  784. 784.
    >Mimicking how you were sitting
  785. 785.
    >Weird
  786. 786.
    [“How you?”]
  787. 787.
    >”Good, thankz!”
  788. 788.
    >Her pronunciation was still weird, and she seemed to know as much English as you knew Ponian
  789. 789.
    >This at least gave you both time to practice
  790. 790.
    [“Questions?”]
  791. 791.
    >She nodded, pulling out a scroll from who-knows-where, holding it in front of her with her hooves
  792. 792.
    >Unrolling it, you quickly began to realize just how many questions were on here, knowing there would be no way to answer them all in one sitting
  793. 793.
    >Despite that, you actually felt glad about the sheer density
  794. 794.
    >If it meant you got to have more company, you’d take it
  795. 795.
    >”Anoneemoose?”
  796. 796.
    >Heh
  797. 797.
    [“Check.”]
  798. 798.
    >”From Earth?”
  799. 799.
    [“Check.”]
  800. 800.
    >”Earth Hyuman?”
  801. 801.
    [“Check.”]
  802. 802.
    >And on it went, going over basic facts, with the mint pony marking down your answers
  803. 803.
    >The first while was rather mundane, though at least later on, it started getting to more interesting questions
  804. 804.
    >You were asked about how much you knew of this world, your goals, your needs, your diet, all sorts of different things
  805. 805.
    >The mare had seemed especially intrigued when you mentioned the fact that no one had magic back home
  806. 806.
    >You explained as best you could in their language that magic was essentially tricks people could pull to make it appear like the impossible was happening, when it really wasn’t
  807. 807.
    >You almost thought you heard her mumble something about an “amoolet” but you weren’t quite sure
  808. 808.
     
  809. 809.
    >She seemed unconvinced, and you could understand why
  810. 810.
    >She explained that every aspect of life here, even friendship itself, had love interwoven into it
  811. 811.
    >After hearing that, you likened her disbelief to the idea of a person being confused about the concept of gravity, or time
  812. 812.
    >Then you remembered that flat-Earthers exist and you decided to simply accept her explanation for now
  813. 813.
    >This world being some sort of magic-filled fantasy land sure explained a few things
  814. 814.
    >Besides, you had more pressing questions in mind
  815. 815.
    [“My turn?”]
  816. 816.
    >She was slightly surprised but, after mulling it over for a little, she nodded
  817. 817.
    >”Okay. Whatz your qweestion?”
  818. 818.
    >While you knew your odds of getting out of this place entirely were slim-to-none, you really wanted out of this room
  819. 819.
    >They’d touched it up with the additions they’d made, and being able to talk to ponies, albeit slowly, and awkwardly, helped as well
  820. 820.
    >You couldn’t help but feel like you were going a little stir-crazy
  821. 821.
    >With all the revelations you kept having, you really needed a change of pace
  822. 822.
    [“Can I leave? Room?”]
  823. 823.
    >”Thatz...hard.’’
  824. 824.
    >She admitted, glancing upwards again
  825. 825.
    >You didn’t want to lose this chance though, so you pressed on
  826. 826.
    [“It not need be long. Just want sun. Exercise.”]
  827. 827.
    >”Living space s’bad?”
  828. 828.
    >Admittedly, this would probably be an easier conversation to have with the other Pony
  829. 829.
    >While she wasn’t fluent yet, she had a mastery over English that was far advanced from the Pony you were talking to
  830. 830.
    >You were a big enough man to admit you weren’t too fluent in their language yet, after all
  831. 831.
    >Actually, given the fact that you were undoubtedly being watched right now
  832. 832.
    [“I talk to Director.”]
  833. 833.
    >You stated, before looking upwards towards the light, squinting, but trying to keep them open
  834. 834.
    “Director, it’s not that I’m not grateful to have the things I have here, but being stuck in one room for weeks is...exhausting. I don’t need much right now, just sunlight and room to move around in. Can I have that, please?”
  835. 835.
     
  836. 836.
    >There was a momentary pause, both you and the pony beside you remaining quiet
  837. 837.
    >While you didn’t think she’d understood all you said, she at least caught enough of it to know who you were talking to
  838. 838.
    >After the moment had passed, the Director’s voice reached through the speakers, or whatever they were. Loud enough for the two of you to understand
  839. 839.
    >”Yes. I will mark the date for tomorrow.”
  840. 840.
    >Her voice disappeared as soon as it came, your room returning to silence until it was broken by the pony beside you
  841. 841.
    >”I doon’t under...get t’all, but thatz sound good!”
  842. 842.
    “It sure is.”
  843. 843.
    >You wrapped an arm around the pony, drawing her in for a side-long squeeze
  844. 844.
    >You hadn’t originally been the huggy type, but that was a small victory worthy of a hug
  845. 845.
    >The Pony seemed pretty pleased with themselves as well, so a win/win all ‘round
  846. 846.
    >She let you have a minute or two to yourself and, when you were ready, the two of you went back to questions
  847. 847.
    >While you hadn’t been thinking about it, you’d yet to remove your arm from the Pony beside you
  848. 848.
    >Eventually, when the long list of questions had been answered, or at least a lot of them, she got up to leave
  849. 849.
    >Once she was by the door, she turned, smiled and waved at you, and then headed out
  850. 850.
    >Finally
  851. 851.
    >You hadn’t been lying about this being exhausting
  852. 852.
    >You hadn’t been focusing on your confines too much given all the various reveals that had happened to you recently
  853. 853.
    >Thinking about it, you couldn’t help but wonder if this place helped with your gloom
  854. 854.
    >As dressed up as it was, it was still a cell
  855. 855.
     
  856. 856.
    -----
  857. 857.
     
  858. 858.
    >The mare practically bounced to the Director’s office
  859. 859.
    >She’d done her job well!
  860. 860.
    >She’d gotten just about every question answered, aside from the ones Anon claimed not to know
  861. 861.
    >The Director would definitely be pleased with her work
  862. 862.
    >Plus, not only that, but Anon seemed happier as well!
  863. 863.
    >Heck, not only had he hugged her, but he’d kept holding her afterwards until they were done!
  864. 864.
    >If things kept up like this, they’d be close friends in no time
  865. 865.
     
  866. 866.
    >The next day rolled around, and you found yourself staring at the door to your room as it opened
  867. 867.
    >Beyond it stood a pair of guards, one of which had a horn, the other nothing
  868. 868.
    >So just a normal Pony then? Or was this one off or something?
  869. 869.
    >From the way it shifted, it seemed like it didn’t like you staring at it, so you decided to just move on outside
  870. 870.
    >Passing the first door, you waited for them to open the second, crossing through that barrier when they were ready
  871. 871.
    >You hadn't been this far in, what, a week?
  872. 872.
    >Well, it didn't matter, you just had to stay calm and cooperate
  873. 873.
    >It didn't matter if you felt a little tense with these ponies watching you
  874. 874.
    >You couldn't remember many specific details from when you'd been caught during your escape attempt, so you had no real way of determining if either of these Ponies were the same ones as those that had caught you last time
  875. 875.
    >Hopefully they didn't hold a grudge for your making a break for it
  876. 876.
    >Should you ask them?
  877. 877.
    >No, not right now
  878. 878.
    >Your Ponish wasn't nearly good enough for diplomacy, and they had a job to do
  879. 879.
    >Speaking of which
  880. 880.
    >The final door opened slowly, a familiar, mint, labcoat-wearing mare on the other side
  881. 881.
    >It felt good to see her smiling at you, though the two guards standing behind her lessened your mood somewhat
  882. 882.
    >You knew you were big compared to them, but four guards?
  883. 883.
    >Like before, you kept yourself from commenting
  884. 884.
    >They had their directions and orders here
  885. 885.
    >"Yoo readee?"
  886. 886.
    >Heh
  887. 887.
    ["Yes. Where to?"]
  888. 888.
    >Short and simple, that was the best way to do this
  889. 889.
    >Their language still felt weird to say
  890. 890.
    >As long as you could get the message across though, you'd be fine
  891. 891.
    >She gestured for you to follow her, turning to head down the hallway to the right of your door
  892. 892.
    >As she did, the guards behind her moved to intercept you, creating a small barrier between you and her
  893. 893.
    >The ones from your room did the same, though they took up spots behind you
  894. 894.
    >No chance to sight-see, huh?
  895. 895.
    >Well, lead on, Ponies
  896. 896.
     
  897. 897.
    >Cool stone walls flanked your group as you moved along
  898. 898.
    >Lights from crystals shone down from above, with some no doubt tracking your progress
  899. 899.
    >Who could tell how things worked when it came to magic
  900. 900.
    >One thing that you noticed from your last escapade into this hallway was the utter lack of Ponies
  901. 901.
    >Last time you'd been "out" there had been at least a dozen of them running around
  902. 902.
    >Now it was just your convoy
  903. 903.
    >Was it really just because you were being escorted?
  904. 904.
    >What did they think you were going to do, take a hostage?
  905. 905.
    >Considering that, you looked down at one of the guards in front of you
  906. 906.
    >Their tail was cut short, so there wasn't much to grab there
  907. 907.
    >Still, it really wouldn't be too hard to just reach down and grab them
  908. 908.
    >Given their legs, if you lifted one into the air, it'd be like holding a dog, right?
  909. 909.
    >Keep them facing away from you and as long as you control their head, they can't do much to you, yeah?
  910. 910.
    >Glancing back, you looked to the guards that had entered your room
  911. 911.
    >Unlike the two at the front, one of the ones behind you had a horn
  912. 912.
    >So, only one magic user?
  913. 913.
    >You wished you could remember more about your jail break
  914. 914.
    >It would have probably helped you figure out why there was only one Unicorn here
  915. 915.
     
  916. 916.
    -----
  917. 917.
     
  918. 918.
    >Had you not been so lost in thought, you might have noticed that you had walked past a few doors
  919. 919.
    >For the most part this hallway was rather barren, only three other doors situated along the walls, two on each side
  920. 920.
    >The walls around them were quite barren aside from a number, and a single sign, each of which had different images and writing on them
  921. 921.
    >Mostly they were warnings and instructions, though one seemed to have been vandalized
  922. 922.
    >Much of the information it had listed was garbled or nonsensical
  923. 923.
    >What little there was that made sense to read seemed entirely pointless
  924. 924.
    >Not only that, but every now and then, it seemed to change
  925. 925.
     
  926. 926.
    >At the end of the hallway was a single set of doors with a slot for a card to be placed inside
  927. 927.
    >Her horn glowing, the mare leading the squad pulled a card out of a pocket in her coat, slipping it in and out of the slot
  928. 928.
    >The door hummed softly while she moved the card back into her pocket, metal doors opening up, revealing an elevator
  929. 929.
    >It was a little jarring to see such an obviously modern device in a place that was supposedly filled with magic
  930. 930.
    >It wasn't like your room was all too advanced, after all
  931. 931.
    >As the doors kept sliding open, you quickly realized that this was a sort of freight elevator
  932. 932.
    >Not wanting to get a shock or anything, you complied, following the group once that started to move, stepping into the elevator
  933. 933.
    >Once you were in place, all four guards turning to watch you through their helmets, the mint mare moved to a series of large buttons
  934. 934.
    >She repeated the same trick with her card as before and, with a press of a button, the doors slid shut and you were all on the move
  935. 935.
    >Next stop, outside
  936. 936.
    >Or something to that effect
  937. 937.
     
  938. 938.
    -----
  939. 939.
     
  940. 940.
    >Alright, one more hall to travel, apparently
  941. 941.
    >Just how big was this place?
  942. 942.
    >You'd all gone downwards for what you could only guess were about three floors, and when you had gotten out, there were a series of trolleys waiting outside
  943. 943.
    >they were a bit like miniature trains, now that you looked at them
  944. 944.
    >They hardly looked like they were made for comfort
  945. 945.
    >The mare took the lead again, the five of you following after her
  946. 946.
    >It was as you all got aboard the train that you realized you'd never asked her for her name
  947. 947.
    >The talks you'd had with her had been few and far between, after all, but still
  948. 948.
    >Being able to refer to her name would probably make her feel a bit more easy around you, right?
  949. 949.
    >Sort of like being friends
  950. 950.
     
  951. 951.
     
  952. 952.
    >After a fairly short, awkward, ride, your train came to a stop, the six of you disembarking, heading into yet another elevator
  953. 953.
    >Another elevator ride, and finally, the doors opened to face
  954. 954.
    >Yet another door
  955. 955.
    >You could understand security, but this bordered on paranoia
  956. 956.
    >Either they had something powerful locked up, or they really didn't want to risk anything ever getting out
  957. 957.
    >When your group leader unlocked this door, you noticed something different
  958. 958.
    >The metal doors opened, but there was thin, shimmering blue light that filled the doorway
  959. 959.
    >No one else seemed to worry about it, so you headed through as well
  960. 960.
    >It tingled as it passed over you, but that was about it
  961. 961.
    >Besides, you found what awaited you on the other side so much more interesting
  962. 962.
    >You scarcely noticed the enclosure, you were just too focused on the sun
  963. 963.
    >Great beams of light shone down from the cloudless sky, illuminating the area you found yourself standing in and, as those sunny rays hit you, you felt the world melt away
  964. 964.
    >You'd known it would feel good, but you had no idea that it would be this good
  965. 965.
    >The sun felt so warm, heating your body up, driving your worries and fears out of you
  966. 966.
    >It was a little like being enveloped in a full-body hug
  967. 967.
    >The warmth of the light spread through you
  968. 968.
    >You couldn't hold it back
  969. 969.
    >You started laughing
  970. 970.
    >For the first time in weeks, you felt at peace
  971. 971.
    >You weren't scared or nervous
  972. 972.
    >Tensions you hadn't even realized you were carrying lessened
  973. 973.
    >It just felt so GOOD
  974. 974.
     
  975. 975.
    -----
  976. 976.
     
  977. 977.
    >The Ponies watched as Anon stood there, eyes shut, head tilted up towards the sky, a real laugh escaping him
  978. 978.
    >It felt good to see him like this
  979. 979.
    >It wasn't often that a Pony got to see another warmed by Celestia's light for the first time
  980. 980.
    >It was a precious experience, one that made the heart soar like a Pegasus, and filled the body with the energy of an Earth Pony
  981. 981.
    >They knew they had a time limit here
  982. 982.
    >But the group seemed to silently agree
  983. 983.
    >They could let him have this for a while
  984. 984.
     
  985. 985.
    ----- (https://desuarchive.org/mlp/thread/32283083/#32296959)
  986. 986.
     
  987. 987.
    >After enjoying the feeling of freedom, even if only a slight amount, you started stretching
  988. 988.
    >You were going to go for a hell of a run
  989. 989.
    >You could almost feel the Ponies' eyes boring into as you limbered up, wondering if they had any idea just what it was you were doing
  990. 990.
    >While they were basic stretches, your two people were quite alien to one another
  991. 991.
    >When bending backwards, you almost thought you caught a glimpse of something pink in one of the trees, but you blinked and didn't see it again
  992. 992.
    >Focusing on your warm up, you finished up, and moved to space you planned to run in
  993. 993.
    >Due to this location being circular, you had an easy track in mind, and so you started off, slow at first, but quickly picking up speed
  994. 994.
    >You might be out of shape and practice, but it felt good to just get moving
  995. 995.
    >One lap, then two, then three, you just kept jogging along, feeling the stiffness in your body fade
  996. 996.
    >When you passed the group, you watched them follow you as you moved
  997. 997.
    >Was this fast for them?
  998. 998.
    >Was it slow?
  999. 999.
    >You had the height advantage, but Humans weren't meant for incredible speed after all
  1000. 1000.
    >You were made for endurance
  1001. 1001.
    >Coming back around, you slowed to a stop by the group, panting and sweating, looking down at the guards and mare
  1002. 1002.
    "Hey, this might be- right, sorry."
  1003. 1003.
    ["Any of you want run with me?"]
  1004. 1004.
    >They seemed a little reluctant at first, but then the green Unicorn gestured to the guards, and they nodded, moving to stand around you, flanking you on either side like you were all at a track meet
  1005. 1005.
    >Taking it as your wish being granted, you checked to make sure they were ready to go, and then took off, jogging your laps like before
  1006. 1006.
    >Considering their status as guards, they kept up with you with ease, though they had to work their legs more to match your gait
  1007. 1007.
    >One lap
  1008. 1008.
    >Then another
  1009. 1009.
    >You kept going until you had matched the amount you'd done previously
  1010. 1010.
    >It was a large space, so you couldn't help but feel pretty winded
  1011. 1011.
    >The guards though, looked fine
  1012. 1012.
     
  1013. 1013.
    >Coming to a stop in front of your handler, you and your guards skidded to a stop
  1014. 1014.
    >Your face felt as sore as your legs did with how much you were smiling
  1015. 1015.
    >MAN had you needed this
  1016. 1016.
    ["Gonna relax. Thank you all."]
  1017. 1017.
    >They nodded to you, stepping back to the side while you moved over to the center of the room, flopping back down onto the ground, staring up at the sky, letting the warmth of the sun wash over you
  1018. 1018.
    >Shutting your eyes, you found you were actually a whole lot more tired than you figured you'd have been
  1019. 1019.
    >Was your sleep schedule messed up or something?
  1020. 1020.
    >It was certainly understandable if so
  1021. 1021.
    >While the lights lit and dimmed, you had no guarantee it actually matched the world outside
  1022. 1022.
    >Or that the outside world was anything like yours back home
  1023. 1023.
    >Yet more questions
  1024. 1024.
    >Actually, hadn't you planned to ask some things?
  1025. 1025.
    >Crossing your arms behind your head, you turned your head to the side and, when you'd caught sight of the only labcoat-wearing Pony, you beckoned her over
  1026. 1026.
    >The guards started to move with her, but she stopped them with a raised hoof
  1027. 1027.
    >Guess she felt fairly comfortable around you, huh?
  1028. 1028.
    >That was a nice thought
  1029. 1029.
     
  1030. 1030.
    -----
  1031. 1031.
     
  1032. 1032.
    >Anon had called her over
  1033. 1033.
    >Not wanting the guards to worry him, she'd gone on her own, settling down on her back just to the side of him
  1034. 1034.
    ["Who Celestia?"]
  1035. 1035.
    >Interesting start, but given how often she was named in literature, it made sense he'd be interested
  1036. 1036.
    >He might even have read something about her controlling the movements of the sun
  1037. 1037.
    >"She iz the prinzess of Equestreea. She lifts the zun."
  1038. 1038.
    >She was thankful she'd grown used to him enough to not flinch when those eyes of his widened
  1039. 1039.
    ["Lifts sun? Wow..."]
  1040. 1040.
    >His voice trailed off, Anon seemingly lost in thought
  1041. 1041.
    >If his world really was devoid of magic, that might have been a pretty shocking reveal to him
  1042. 1042.
    ["And this...A-Quest-Tree?"]
  1043. 1043.
    >She forced her giggle down, covering her mouth with a hoof before nodding, gesturing at the space around them
  1044. 1044.
     
  1045. 1045.
    >["Equestria."]
  1046. 1046.
    ["Eh-qwestree-ya?"]
  1047. 1047.
    >Well he was catching on faster these days
  1048. 1048.
    >That's a good sign
  1049. 1049.
    >["Equestria."]
  1050. 1050.
    ["Eqwuestreea."]
  1051. 1051.
    >["EQUestrIa."]
  1052. 1052.
    ["Equestria. This world Equestria."]
  1053. 1053.
    >She tilted his head when a rich, low chuckle rose from her current sunbathing companion
  1054. 1054.
    >"Whatz funny?"
  1055. 1055.
    ["Way back...I thought said 'Equestrian', not Equestria."]
  1056. 1056.
    >Well, that wasn't much of a difference
  1057. 1057.
    >Was a single, added letter all that funny?
  1058. 1058.
    >"Duz 'EquestriaN' mean something?"
  1059. 1059.
    >He nodded, turning his head again to stare into her eyes, an innocent look on his face
  1060. 1060.
    >She could see him struggle to think of how to explain it in the words that he knew, finally settling on
  1061. 1061.
    ["Human that rides horses."]
  1062. 1062.
    >She could feel the blood rush through her body, quite assured that her face was turning from green to red
  1063. 1063.
    >Yet oddly enough, she couldn't quite find the energy to look away from his eyes
  1064. 1064.
    >He was less expressive than a Pony, which meant reading him could be difficult
  1065. 1065.
    >Looking at him now though, he seemed...happy
  1066. 1066.
    >It might have been the sun, or maybe she was still feeling a bit out-of-sorts due to his wording, but she found herself smiling
  1067. 1067.
    >It felt good to see him like this
  1068. 1068.
    >The two of them laid there for a moment, Celestia's sun bathing the two of them in warmth and light
  1069. 1069.
    ["I don't know if allowed...what is name?"]
  1070. 1070.
    >Oh!
  1071. 1071.
    >That was...
  1072. 1072.
    >What should she say?
  1073. 1073.
    >Knowing a Pony's name could be quite powerful
  1074. 1074.
    >Some spells only worked if you knew a being's name
  1075. 1075.
    >And with the wide variety of creatures out there, it was a given that a name might be valuable to at least one of them
  1076. 1076.
    >And yet, when she looked up at Anon, she couldn't find it in herself to think of him that way
  1077. 1077.
    >He was too innocent, too gentle
  1078. 1078.
    >Would she get in trouble for this?
  1079. 1079.
    >Maybe
  1080. 1080.
    >It was a risk, but it demonstrated an important step
  1081. 1081.
    >This was for friendship and understanding
  1082. 1082.
    >"Itz alright, Anon. I know yours, yoo can know mein. I'm Lyra Heartstrings."
  1083. 1083.
     
  1084. 1084.
    >She hadn't told anyone, but she'd actually been practicing how to say her name in his language
  1085. 1085.
    >After all, she'd wanted to be prepared for such an event
  1086. 1086.
    >This was an important breakthrough of sorts!
  1087. 1087.
    >She watched him mull it over in his head, seemingly thinking it over
  1088. 1088.
    >While hers was certainly different than his, their names were not too different
  1089. 1089.
    >She'd always been good at music, and it turned out that that may have translated well to her work here
  1090. 1090.
    >Identifying patterns and working to link disjointed issues together came quite in hoof here
  1091. 1091.
    >She'd yet to find out just what Anon did back home, but his name certainly worked well here
  1092. 1092.
    >'Anonymous'
  1093. 1093.
    >A no one, a strange being without identity
  1094. 1094.
    >He had no history here, no one that knew him, nothing
  1095. 1095.
    >Whoever his parents had been, if he even had any, they'd been as apt at naming him as parents here were with their own foals
  1096. 1096.
    ["Lyra Hearstrings"]
  1097. 1097.
    >He'd translated it back into Ponian with ease, the faint smile growing after he said it
  1098. 1098.
    >It was strange how...right it felt when he said it
  1099. 1099.
    >Like it was some treasure for him to inspect and polish
  1100. 1100.
    >Nodding, Lyra licked her lips to keep them from drying
  1101. 1101.
    >This was an odd feeling
  1102. 1102.
    >She'd felt something like this before, back when Anon had first touched her
  1103. 1103.
    >It was similar to how she'd felt becoming friends with Bon Bon, but off by just a little
  1104. 1104.
    >Not in a bad way though
  1105. 1105.
    >The old Pony parts of her head started to question it though
  1106. 1106.
    >Did she actually know what she was feeling?
  1107. 1107.
    >Was he doing something?
  1108. 1108.
    >Why did she feel so strange?
  1109. 1109.
    >She'd been warned to watch out for something like this happening after all
  1110. 1110.
    >Had she gotten too attached?
  1111. 1111.
    >Working herself up into a bit of a panic, she made a quick start to get up, before freezing up when a hand found her, stopping her sudden shift
  1112. 1112.
    ["Please. Don't go. Please."]
  1113. 1113.
    >Something was wrong
  1114. 1114.
    >Something was definitely wrong
  1115. 1115.
    >This wasn't normal, this didn't feel right
  1116. 1116.
    >She shouldn't look back at him
  1117. 1117.
    >Because she was starting to understand
  1118. 1118.
     
  1119. 1119.
    >This new feeling
  1120. 1120.
    >Of course it was similar to what she'd felt with Bon Bon, yet...more
  1121. 1121.
    >It was love, or at least the start of it
  1122. 1122.
    >It was love, and she had to move
  1123. 1123.
    >If she didn't, if she looked back at him...
  1124. 1124.
    >If she looked into those eyes
  1125. 1125.
    >A whine escaped her as Anon asked again
  1126. 1126.
    ["Please...just for a little..."]
  1127. 1127.
    >She wasn't sure if it was the face she was making, or Anon and her's "struggle" had been more noticeable than she thought it was, but she could see the guards start to move
  1128. 1128.
    >It was slow at first, the tilting of heads, acknowledgement that something was happening
  1129. 1129.
    >Then, they began to move in, jogging at first, but quickly picking up speed
  1130. 1130.
    >With her position, Anon probably couldn't see them
  1131. 1131.
    >All he had right now was her in his sights
  1132. 1132.
    >Just her
  1133. 1133.
    >It was just her, and the guards were getting closer
  1134. 1134.
    >They'd pull Anon off her, bind him, and then they'd all go back
  1135. 1135.
    >They'd move through the doors and down the elevator and onto the train
  1136. 1136.
    >They'd lock him back up and she'd go decontaminate herself, and Anon...
  1137. 1137.
    >Would he forgive her?
  1138. 1138.
    >Did he even feel the same way towards her as she was feeling towards him now?
  1139. 1139.
    >Raising a hoof up, the guards stopped just a meter or so away
  1140. 1140.
    >Anon hadn't hurt her or anything of the sort
  1141. 1141.
    >He was just holding her
  1142. 1142.
    >Compared to all the other creatures and things that she and the foundation stored, he was so gentle
  1143. 1143.
    >Gentle and understanding and accommodating
  1144. 1144.
    >She could feel her resistance wavering
  1145. 1145.
    >This wasn't the end though, right?
  1146. 1146.
    >This wasn't the be-all-end-all
  1147. 1147.
    >Things grew and changed with time
  1148. 1148.
    >She might feel this way today, but in a week's time, would she be able to say the same?
  1149. 1149.
    >A month?
  1150. 1150.
    >She might lose this feeling by the time they were apart
  1151. 1151.
    >And truth be told
  1152. 1152.
    >Was it so wrong?
  1153. 1153.
    >It felt...nice
  1154. 1154.
    >Her resolve wavered a little more
  1155. 1155.
    >A little more
  1156. 1156.
    >And then
  1157. 1157.
    >Well, it was such a lovely day after all, and she had a friend beside her
  1158. 1158.
    >Why should she waste her time worrying?

[RGRE] RD's Dare by SadNonny

by silvertear

[RGRE] Villanon by AponymousAuthor

by silvertear

Applejack Season (NSFW clop) - by Operafag

by silvertear

[RGRE] How Villanon Stole Hearth's Warming by AponymousAuthor

by silvertear

[AiE] Burning Questions by MINDWAVE

by silvertear