Spoonlicker Anon Pt. 6

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Summary: Anonymous is a child that no one can understand, not even Flutters. A policy of noninterference was put in place, and is being enforced by Twilight. Twilight is also documenting Anonymous for any signs of what this strange creature is.

Last Chapter: The Cutie Mark Crusaders snuck into the barn and woke up Anonymous. After a confused back and forth the children resort to drawing to try and communicate. They spend the entire night creating doodles until Applejack finds them, and is right furious about it. She makes the Cutie Mark Crusaders leave the barn, and wakes up Twilight to make sure they are okay.

Posted in Thread 857
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>How do those three girls keep getting into places they shouldn’t be?
>You thought Applejack said she was going to keep an eye on them.
>Never mind, that’s not important now. What is important is that they were with Anonymous for who knows how long.
>According to what they said, you believe they should be safe. After all, you still feel fine and you’ve been in close contact with Anonymous all day.
>Fine except for a weary body held up by exhausted muscles. The sun isn’t even up yet.
>Did Anonymous sleep any? How is this going to affect everything?
>You need to get some answers.

“Alright girls, what exactly happened?”
>Applejack narrows her gaze awaiting the explanation. The three crusaders tuck into their capes.
>Their eyes bounce from side to side while they draw out their answer. You can practically see their little minds fast at work.
>“Only the truth.”
>Applejack’s tone hits like a steady hammer. She’s leaving them no wiggle room.
>Each of them snaps to attention as if they were the ones who were suddenly woken up.

>Popping out of their respective shells, they bombard you with their side of the story.
>”We were curious and wanted to see it.”
>”Yeah, and maybe get our cutie marks.”
>”By helping.”
>Their words madly bounce off of each other leaving no room for a break.
>”We just drew a few pictures is all, honest.”
>”We were only in there for a while.”
>”And the alien was really nice.”
>Only in there for awhile, huh?
>Time to see the damage.


>Opening the barn door you find the floor absolutely covered in papers and crayons.
>This is way more than a few pictures. Even with the three of them all drawing, they were in here for some time.
>How’s Anonymous?
>You spot Anonymous turned away from you, bent over by its nest. It’s picking up one of the papers from the floor.
> As you make your way inside, the others tentatively accompany you.
>The clock of your hooves against the wooden floor alerts Anonymous to your presence.
>It bounces up to full height and spins to face the crowd. Upon seeing you its cheeks push up into its eyes from the wide open smile.
>The faintest of screams reverberate from Anonymous as it runs towards you, flapping the paper in the air.
>The cries barely last, and the low volume made it a little easier to ignore.

>When Anonymous reaches you, it immediately starts waving the paper in your face until you grab it in your purple aura.
>The semi-crude drawing is of three Anonymous’ standing outside of a house. All three versions are of a different height.
>So it recognizes its own image, and seems very happy about the representation.
>Turning to the cutie mark troublemakers, you show them the picture.
“Which one of you drew this?”
>”The alien did.”
>If there was any hint of tiredness left in your body it quickly disappears.
>Every node in your brain fires up, and bolts of thought shoot out like a raging storm.
“Tell me absolutely everything!”

>Anonymous is clearly capable of precise motor control, but that does not surprise you after watching it try to get into Sugarcube Corner.
>Being able to draw is a big deal, though. Even as a probable tool user, there is no real survival benefit to drawing for a wild animal.
>This could be a cornerstone in discovering Anonymous’ intelligence level! If what the girls are saying is true, it already helps prove Anonymous can distinguish colors.


>”When we came into the barn the alien was asleep on the hay.”
>Applebloom was happy to start, and the enthusiasm of their adventure carries into her words.
>”But then it saw us and made a strange noise.”
>Not wanting to be left out, Scootaloo jumps in right after her with little patience.
>”It sounded like filing down gems.”
>Sweetie Belle lacked the overt energy of her compatriots, but was just as elated to share.
>”It saw the paper Sweetie Belle had, and did something with its hand.”
>Wait a minute. Why did Anonymous wake up? Did it sense them somehow?
“Back up for a second, girls. How did Anonymous see you? Was it asleep with its eyes open or something?”
>”Ah…kinda…threw a pebble near it.”
>That early enthusiasm made a quick exit.

>”Ahpplebloommm”
>Applejack was virtually growling the words.
>That was an awfully foolish idea. They had no idea how Anonymous would react. Not even you do.
“What did Anonymous do when you threw the pebble?”
>”It looked at us then shot up.”
>Applebloom was quick to divert her attention from her sister.
>”And made that nasty sound.”
>Scootaloo’s face as she emphasizes the ‘nasty’ part curls into disgust. Evidently she found the sound to hold a bitter taste.
>”Is Anonymous the alien’s name?”
>Unlike the other two who are caught up in their own condition, Sweetie Belle questions you with a look of tender curiosity.
>Who gave them the idea it was an alien, anyway?
“That’s what we’re calling it for now.”

>Anonymous grabs the picture back from you, and starts pressing it towards your face again.
 “I see it, I see it. So you drew this? It’s very nice.”
>How can you convey that in a way the creature will understand?
>Nodding your head, you give Anonymous a gentle pat on the shoulder.
>Anonymous turns the drawing back around, and studies it some more.


>Something about the picture does bother you. Why were there three figures?
>Was it three versions of itself? Did it add its friends/ family/ pack?
>And what about the house? Was it drawing the barn? Is it capable of construction?
> Maybe Anonymous is like a beaver. Based on the size of those flowers, everything is really small.
>That would make Anonymous the tallest one in the picture, you guess.
>More information is required.

 “What happened after that?”
>”We gave it some paper and a crayon, and it started drawin’.”
>Applebloom’s plain statements thus far suggest that she is the least aware of the circumstances at play here.
>”It drew something really weird, and then Applebloom wrote her name and showed it to the ali-Anonymous.”
>Looks as though Scootaloo was the one in the bunch keeping track of how foreign and new Anonymous is.
“Weird?”
>”The designs didn’t really look like anything. They were pretty, though; in a way.”
>Sweetie Belle tries to emulate the shapes in the air with her hoof. It’s not very effective.
“Which one is it?”
>The crusaders begin to scour the barn floor looking through each picture.
>”While yer at it, pick them up, too.”
>The temperature of that command was absolutely frigid.
>Applejack wasn’t going to let up on those three anytime soon, that much was clear.
>You can use this opportunity to make your life a lot easier in the long run.
“Only pick up the one’s you drew and bring them to me, please.”
>Whatever is left on the floor will have been done by Anonymous, and you can set them all into separate piles for comparison.

>Sweetie was the first one to bringer her pile to you.
>”I showed this to Anonymous and told it that the picture was of me.”
>The top picture just had a lone unicorn drawn on it, and nothing else.


>Anonymous pulls at your attention again with a low bark.
>It points at the figures in its drawing and then places its hand on its chest.
>”That’s exactly what we did!”
>Sweetie Belle’s voice cracks from her excitement.
>Was it mimicking Sweetie Belle, and replacing her version with itself?
>Scootaloo brings up her pile next, but the one on top doesn’t look like she actually tried to draw anything.
>”This is the one Anonymous made the first time.”

>Picking up the drawing on top, you go to examine it, but Anonymous’ eyes light up and it snatches the drawing.
>Anonymous grabs a crayon from off the floor, and lays down on an empty spot.
>Using the solid bits of floor as a hard surface, it very meticulously moves the crayon across the paper.
>Your breath catches in your throat. Is this really happening?
>Anonymous is drawing right in front of you! It’s actually doing it! They were telling the truth!

>You watch Anonymous’ actions carefully. The shapes, if you could call them that, are being drawn with ticks and in a circular fashion.
>Anonymous is also going straight down the edge of the paper, rather than in towards the center.
>After drawing the third version Anonymous sets down the crayon and stands back up. With a twist of the arm, Anonymous presents the final product to you.

>There’s a tingling sensation emanating throughout your entire body.
>The anticipation is barely controllable, but you restrain yourself enough to casually accept the picture.
>That tingly feeling quickly disappears once your eyes scroll over the chaotic runes.
>You can’t make heads or tails out of this.
>The pattern looks organized, and based on what you saw there was a lot of care put into this.
>The images are just a jumbled mess of impossibilities.
>Even if you squint you can’t make out anything.
>What’s worse, the three look practically identical.
>On top of all that, the versions that were originally there are completely different.


>Maybe it’s actually words?
>It may not look like anything you have ever seen before, but there is no doubt Anonymous put them like that on purpose, and Anonymous has proven three things so far:
>1) It recognizes images.
>2) It can recreate images.
>3) It is very sociable.
>A sociable species would have ways to communicate, and what you have seen suggests that it at least has some advanced social behavior.
>It tried knocking first back in town, it left the barn to use the bathroom, and it can draw. Those are not basic natural traits.
>The possibility that Anonymous is actually wearing clothes that it may have made itself just became a little more likely.

>Anonymous also appears to be use to groups.
>Despite your best attempts, numerous ponies have come into contact with it, and save for the first meeting Anonymous has not shied away from the company.
>It even held its ground against you in the street when it had the cupcake, fully aware you could use magic.
>Fluttershy is right; it doesn’t seem aggressive, but it doesn’t see you as a threat either.
>And that last part scares you.

>A bony intrusion pokes at your side, and causes you to jump up in shock.
>Anonymous is looking at you expectantly; as are the other four ponies in the barn.
>You may not be able to ‘read’ this, if that is the actual case, but maybe the reverse will work.
>Grabbing one of the crayons with your magic, you start writing out your own message.
>Applebloom brings her stack of paper up to you at the same time, taking a look at what you are doing.
>”We tried that too. Anonymous didn’t seem to understand either.”
>That may be, but you have to see this for yourself.
>There’s some hope you can communicate yet! Even Angle Bunny can read.
>If you can get any sort of leeway you can start answering some questions.
>Best to keep it simple.
I want to be your friend.


>You hover the paper back to Anonymous, which it gingerly takes into its hands.
>What questions should you address first? Where it lives, maybe?
>As far as your eyes are concerned blinking doesn’t exist.
>All thoughts of progress pause when Anonymous turns the paper once.
>In a huff, your message is thrown to the side. Anonymous then immediately grabs the old picture, and points at the self-representations again.
>This time, however, it points out the barn door afterwards.

>Anonymous appears to want to go outside, but why does it keep showing the drawing?
>Does Anonymous want to show you the barn? Does it want to reenact the image? Are there more Anonymous’ outside?
>Only one way to find out.
>You give a single nod to Anonymous, and head out of the barn.
>Anonymous is right behind you, shadowed by the other four a few steps behind.
>Applejack makes sure she is between Anonymous and the girls, and that a respectable distance remains between them.

>Once you are all outside of the barn Anonymous starts spinning around, peering into the distance.
>It didn’t seem interested in the barn at all.
“Girls, this is very important. Did you draw anything like the picture Anonymous has?’
>”We drew lots of things.”
>Applebloom is quite chipper with her reply. There’s some of that previous energy back.
“With ponies other than yourselves in it?”
>”Yup. We drew pictures of our friends, our families, our classmates, some of the ponies around town…”
>Scootaloo lists off a few, and the other two join in a little later, but you stop listening as carefully.
>If you can get a little bit of time to look through these drawings, you may find a link to use.
>Or you could start where it sounds like they did. You’ll just make a quick sketch of yourself.
>Before you can even grab one of your quills from the roof Anonymous takes off.
>In a few hasty steps it walks out into the fields.


“Wait, where are you going?!”
>You need to follow Anonymous, but you can’t let all of this valuable information go to waste.
>You charge back into the barn like a demon possessed. With a thrum of magic, all of the drawings that remain on the floor spin about in a cyclone before neatly stacking themselves in front of you.
>Continuing the effect, you grab each of the three crusader’s piles and stack them in an alternating cross for easy separation later.
>Immediately upon your exit you flex your wings and take to the roof, the stack of papers following behind you like a floating familiar covered in purple.
>Anonymous is only a short distance away, and looks to be heading towards the hill you were on last night.
>Taking the books you brought out of your bag, you set them neatly on the roof, alphabetically of course.
>In their place you throw in the drawings you have collected in one side, and your notes in the other.
>You’ll have to come back for the books later. Right now you need to keep light lest you lose Anonymous.
“Applejack, I have to go with Anonymous. Keep an eye on the girls, and if anything seems strange about them notify me right away.”
>”Will do, Twi. Ah’ll keep my eye on ‘em. They got a busy day ahead of them workin’ the farm anyhow.”
>”Awwww.”
>The cutie mark crusaders share a dejected cry when reminded of their sentence.
>One day they’ll stop getting into trouble, but they were rather fortunate this time.
>Thanks to Anonymous’ mild demeanor, the girls got to be one of the first to interact with the alien, and with little consequence. It will be a story they get to share for the rest of their lives, and all it cost them was a day of manual labor.