The Island (Part 2)

>”What is it?”
>”I don’t know, Spike said he found it this morning at the edge of the EverFree Forest.”
>”Is it even alive?”
>”It’s still breathing. But I hope it wakes up, I have some questions I would like to ask.”
>”How do y’all know if this thing is even safe? Fer all ya know it could wake up in a fit of rage!”
>”Really AppleJack, must you be so brutish and inconsiderate? The poor creature was just lying out there and Spikey-Wikey was kind enough to tell Twilight about it.”
>”The poor thing must be so tired and exhausted. It must be starving; you can practically see its bones!”
>You could feel something touching your forehead. Your eyes felt like they were glue shut.
>”I think it’s waking up!”
>As you slowly opened your eyes, everything in your field of vision was filled with fuzzy odd shapes. You weakly tilt your head up.
>”Hey there little fella, how are you feeling?” one of them said.
>You didn’t respond.
>”Do you understand us?” you blink your eyes a few more times.
>Finally, after rubbing your eyes you gaze up to see seven colourful creatures looking down at you.
>Everything that you knew before felt like a dream long forgotten. Like a nightmare.
>But this place, these things; it felt familiar. It was comforting, yet alien.
>You don’t even remember being in a hospital.
>”I don’t think it understands, much less talk.” One of the muttered.
>With curiosity and awe in your heart and mind, you slowly ease yourself up. You looked to each of them, and they back at you.
>They looked like they were waiting for you to do something.
>One of them didn’t look like the others. It was short and rough looking with a tail.
>The one that was in front of you was purple, her eyes round and almost sparkling. “I wonder where it came from.”
>You reached out with both hands trembling. You were scared, yet a sense of calm came over you.
>”What’s it doing?” the blue one asked.
>You gently placed your hands on the purple thing. She didn’t move away.
>Carefully you felt its face. It was a unique feeling.
>Gently you stroke the side of her face, gave a light squeeze to her cheek and felt her hair.
>Without realizing it, you stood up and inspected the protrusion on her head. “Rather lanky and tall if you ask me...” the blue one retorted.
>”Ah think it likes you, sugar cube.”
>While you inspected its hair and other odd features she whispered, “I think it’s just curious about me. Probably hasn’t seen anything like us before.”
>You stopped looking at it, and you turned your attention to the orange one. You grabbed onto its long length of hair and began to feel it. “Uh, Twilight...”
>”Just let it get familiar, this is probably how it gets to know things.”
>You took a handful of its hair and rubbed it over your face. You breathed in the scent of it. This one didn’t have anything on its forehead like the other one. The others giggled.
>Inspecting along its back, it had the same kind of hair on their back part as their head. You quickly grab it and give it a quick yank.
>”Woah nelly!”
>The hair is pulled out of your hand and the orange pony faces you, “Gettin’ a little too familiar there pardner.” It smiles at you.
>You turn your attention to the yellow one. Immediately you grab onto its face; it was really soft.
>”So... what do we name it?” the blue one asked while hovering in the air.
>Your eyes widen at the sight of this thing in the air, like it was some sort of magic. You walk over to get a closer look.
>It was just out of your reach as you weakly jump at it, “No offense Twilight, but I don’t want that thing touching me.”
>”Rainbow, it’s just curious. I don’t think it wants to harm you or any of us.”
>”Fine...” the blue thing finally lands on the floor delicately. “Just don’t scratch the paint.” Two weird appendages spread out from its back.
>As you inspected these weird yet wonderful things, the others were muttering behind your back.
>”Y’all ever seen a creature like this, Twi?”
>”Can’t say I have. I looked through all the books I’ve had and there’s nothing in them about it. It shares similarities with primates but this one is different. It has a small amount of hair on its head, otherwise it’s hairless. It stands upright unlike us and it seems to have some level of intelligence.”
>”Reckon we should tell the Princess about this?”
>”She might have an idea about this. Spike, can you write a letter for the Princess?”
>You were too engrossed with inspecting the wings to notice what was going on. You felt every inch of them and noticed weird fuzzy things hanging off them.
>”Guys, this thing is rubbing my wings a little rough...”
>”Oh! Oh! Does this mean we found an alien?! We should celebrate!” cheered the pink one and pulls out a giant gray round object.
>A loud bang fills the room, while coloured material spills into the air.
>You instinctively grabbed onto your ears and ducked underneath the nearest table, trembling with fear.
>Curling up into a ball you sobbed quietly to yourself while holding onto your ears. It was the first time you remember ever crying.
>”Pinkie! You scared it!”
>”Oops...”
>”You guys wait outside, Fluttershy and I will calm it down.”
>Once everything calmed down, the two creatures slowly approached the table. “Come on, there’s nothing to be scared of.”
>All they could hear was hyperventilating and sobbing. You could see their faces looking at you, but all they saw was a terrified creature crying softly.
>”Fluttershy, you’re good with animals. Can you get it to come out?”
>”Oh... I don’t know. It might not listen to me.”
>”Well, you have to try something. We don’t want it freaking out every time a loud noise goes off.”
>”OK... here it goes.”
>One of them appeared again, it was the yellow one. “Don’t be scared. The loud noise is gone.”
>You kept your eyes shut tight, with only tears managing to escape between your sniffling.
>Something gently strokes your arm, you peek through your eyes to see one of them was touching you.
>Instead of feeling scared, you felt this warm presence.
>One look into her eyes and you felt something that you haven’t felt before in a long time. You couldn’t describe it, but it was something that told you not to be afraid.
>”Do you want to come out now?”
>Somehow, you understood. You didn’t really understand what she said, but something got through to you and you could just tell what it was saying.
>You nodded your head.
>Slowly you crawl out, and there it wrapped its colourful arms around you and cuddled you. “It’s OK, nothing bad will happen.”
>She soothingly coos and strokes your head gently. Your breathing slows as you calm down.
>”Wow Fluttershy, I knew you were good with animals. Despite this thing not being from here you did well.”
>”It’s a he, Twilight.”
>”How do you know that?”
>”Oh... actually I don’t know. But I just somehow know.”
>It wasn’t long before Spike and Twilight got a reply back from the Princess. She was so intrigued by this discovery that she would be visiting Twilight’s place to inspect this creature.
>While the Fluttershy kept you busy, Twilight and the others got the place cleaned up for the visit.
>”Hey Twilight.” Spike asked.
>”Yes?”
>”You know the robes that he was wearing when we found him?”
>”What about them?”
>”Don’t they look kind of like the ones patients wear in a hospital or something?”
>Twilight paused for a moment with a hoof on her chin. “Now that I think about it, you’re right. They do have a striking resemblance to those kind of gowns.”
>They couldn’t ponder on the thought for too long, Princess Celestia was to show up at any moment.
>Before long, you were sat on the couch between the purple and yellow people. The tiny green and purple thing opens the door and there stood a tall, white figure.
>Its wings were huge and its hair moving in a peculiar wave. Nothing else looked quite like it.
>It came inside the house, but behind were others. Some wore shiny plates over their body and others wore white coats.
>The white coats reminded you of something, but you couldn’t remember.
>Some of them were holding weird things that made clicking sounds followed by a flash. The bright light made your eyes blink.
>You sneezed.
>”So, this is the little critter I heard so much about.” It looks down on you.
>You instantly stood up and looked it straight in the eyes, this one was much taller than the others.
>Everyone made a sound, like they were surprised. But the pretty white creature said something and everyone was quiet again.
>All you wanted to do was inspect. You patted its face with your hands at first.
>You brought your lips to the side of its face and pressed against it. You were trying to learn more about it. It felt soft and warm.
>You nuzzled your face against her and ran your hands through its hair. Nothing felt quite like it.
>”I can see your guest is very curious, Twilight. I can’t say I’ve ever seen a creature like this before.” It spoke.
>”Well, he can’t talk. And if he’s not from here, then where?”
>”That’s what I hope to find out. I just need him to sit for a moment.”
>The yellow thing called you back and you sat back down with her, even though you wanted to look at the pretty creature for a while longer.
>Princess Celestia stepped closer to you and the horn on her head began to shine. It was entrancing as you looked on as it was brought down closer to you.
>You black out.
>Everything was dark, but you felt your body jerk like you ran into a wall. Sounds and noise filled your mind. This was a scary dream.
>Flashes of black, white and gray fly all around you. You couldn’t see anything, but you felt something.
>Hate.
>Anger.
>Pain.
>Loneliness.
>As the others watched on, Princess Celestia was trying to get a feel for what you are and how you got here.
>Nothing shows up. She could only draw a blank.
>But she felt everything that you have experienced before.
>This was the most unsettling part to her.
>She winces in pain as she felt everything that you have, finally her horn stops glowing and her legs shake slightly.
>Your head felt dizzy as you started to open your eyes again.
>Fluttershy rubbed your forehead, “Oh you poor thing. That must’ve been scary.”
>Twilight looked to the princess, “What did you see? Any idea where he’s from?”
>Princess Celestias eyes were still closed, but the expression she was carrying was that of utter despair. It was as if she was still experiencing something unpleasant.
>Finally she spoke, “I couldn’t see anything. His memory is unclear and all I felt was pain.”
>”Pain?” Twilight asked.
>”Yes, this creature has been through something, but it doesn’t understand what exactly. His mind is like that of an infant.”
>Fluttershy gave you a concern looked, “Was there anything else?”
>”I did hear something, but I think it was ‘Anon’.” The Princess spoke. You immediately looked to her.
>They caught onto your reaction, Fluttershy turned to you, “Is that your name? Anon?”
>You point to yourself, you understood what Anon meant. But why was it familiar to you?
>”Your highness...” a voice meekly called out. A male pony in white lab coat came to her side, “With all due respect, we would like to take this marvelous creature in for further study.”
>Fluttershy gasps, “But your highness, this poor thing needs me. He understands me and I can help nurse him back to health.”
>Princess Celestia thought for a moment, “Well, he has taken a liking to you and your friends.”
>Twilight whispered to Fluttershy, “I know you have good intentions, but he doesn’t belong to you or any of us. They’ll probably do some harmless tests and give him back to you.”
>”Um, your highness?” Fluttershy asks, “Will Anon get hurt in these tests? Can I come along?”
>The pony in the white lab coat looks to Celestia, “I assure you we just want to examine him. We won’t keep it in captivity for long and we’ll only take what we can.”
>Fluttershy still looked worried, “Well I guess...” her grip on you loosened.
>One of the ponies in the white coat came up to you and tugged at your arm.
>They were going to take you away?
>You pulled your arm away and curled up right next to Fluttershy. You planted your face in her hair and shook your head to say no to them.
>”You see? The poor thing is scared.”
>”This is ridiculous, we’re not going to harm him!” the pony protested.
>Twilight got an idea, “Princess Celestia, I can study Anon here for you. I’ll even let the gentlecolts here come by for visits to help gather data.”
>Celestia looked to the disgruntled scientist, “Well, it doesn’t look like he wants to leave, but Twilight is offering to let you study it here. Give it some time to settle in before you start to examine it, OK?”
>After some words were exchange, Princess Celestia and her escort left the place. Your belly was hurting and making sounds again.
>”Sounds like somep0ny is hungry.” Fluttershy smiles.
>”He’s not ‘somep0ny’ Fluttershy.” Twilight corrected her. You were led into another room and sat down at this table.
>Twilight pondered for a moment, “What does he even eat? Does he eat fruit, vegetables, or what?”
>”I don’t know, I’ll just whip up something quickly for him. Poor thing must be starving.” Fluttershy peeks into twilight’s fridge and cupboards.
>Twilight came up to you and mumbled, “If only you spoke...” she reaches up to you and pulls your jaw, opening your mouth.
>She looks at your teeth and with a concerned look she calls over Fluttershy. You closed your mouth, due to discomfort, but she opens it again.
>This time without her hooves.
>”Look at those teeth, Fluttershy. See those sharp ones?” Twilight pointed to them.
>”Y-yeah?”
>”Don’t you get it? He must be a meat eater! Only carnivores would have sharp teeth like that.”
>You began to pull your head away. Twilight caught this and released you from her magic.
>”I think I saw some big flat ones in the back, Twilight. Maybe he likes plants as well?”
>”Fluttershy, don’t go assuming it likes the same things we do. Just.... give him some fruit. He might like that”
>You eyes wandered around the room. So many new things to look at and whatnot.
>Fluttershy came back with a plate of assorted foods. “Eat up mister, you need to get your strength back.”
>Your hand flops onto the plate and grabs a hold on a wedge of fruit. The outer part was smooth and the inside part felt a little sticky.
>Putting the corner in your mouth at first you shoved the whole piece into your mouth.
>Ever since you were born, the only time spent with your dad was when he would barge into the room to jam soft food in your mouth and walk out.
>Sometimes you got a boiled egg if he was feeling considerate.
>With your jaw open and slack, you messily chewed on the fruit. It was sweet, but rather hard even for you to chew up properly.
>Your jaw muscles were lacking, so to speak.
>A bit of drool spills from the corner of your mouth and you start to gag a little. You couldn’t chew anymore.
>With a small cough, the piece of fruit drops back onto the table barely masticated.
>”Oh... is something wrong? Twilight, why did he cough it up?”
>Twilight pondered for a moment, “It looks like he can’t chew it properly. Maybe something softer, like a banana.”
>The yellow pony picked up a small round slice of something yellow. It smelled nice.
>You gave it a nibble before placing it in your mouth and noisily chewed at it for a minute. This was much softer and easier to manage.
>You were given another slice of a different fruit, but this was hard like the first one. Fluttershy placed her hoof beneath your jaw and gently pushed up.
>Your teeth managed to pulverize the food into a mushy paste with her help. “That’s a good idea Fluttershy, how did you get the idea to do it?”
>”Well, the princess did say he has suffered through something. Maybe that something prevented him from being able to take care for himself.”
>Twilight gave her a concerned look, “I know you love animals, but this thing is something we never encountered before. You really should’ve let the princess and the others take him in for a quick exam. I’m sure they wouldn’t have harmed him.”
>”I know, and I thank you for helping sway the princess’s mind. But when I look into his eyes, I can tell he needs somep0ny to take care of him first.”
>While you were eating, the purple pony placed a round object on top of your head. A weird thing made a bunch of beeping sounds while you sat there.
>”Hmmm... nothing too unusual going on here. But we’ll need to do more tests.” Twilight muttered. Fluttershy seemed more concerned about your well-being.
>”Twilight, the poor little guy is tired. Can’t we wait until tomorrow morning?”
> The purple pony reluctantly agrees and will continue to do their study tomorrow.
>The small yellow pony took you to her home. It was filled with all sorts of animals.
>The small white one didn’t seem to like you much, but you thought it was cute regardless.
>”Now Angel, he’s a new member of our family.” Fluttershy tells him.
>As you sat on the floor, some of the other animals observed you from a distance while others came up to you.
>You playfully snatched at them, but they would move too quickly. This was fun for you.
>”Anon, are you hungry?” you saw she was holding out a plate of more food. You went over to her and she puts the plate down in front of you on the floor.
>You did your best to chew as hard as you could. You saw Fluttershy tending to the other animals, putting down bowls and filling them with small grainy stuff from large bags.
>While she wasn’t looking, you went off to look around.
>Her house was full of neat things. Things that you didn’t know much about.
>Hard things, little things. Big, small, soft, rough, shiny, fuzzy, dry, wet. All these sensations filling your mind.
>And colour.
>What was colour and how could you describe it?
>Fluttershy makes her way into the kitchen which is where you ended up, “You’re quite a curious little critter, aren’t you?”
>She starts to put things back where they belong; you continue to examine the object in your hands. A large shiny hollow object that felt cool to the touch.
>”If you’re hungry, you need to let me know. Are you hungry?” she asks.
>Somehow you began to form a connection of what she was saying and you nodded. You wanted some more food.
>Fluttershy brought out some more fruit for you to eat.
>You really liked this creature.
>As soon as you were done you continued to explore the house while Fluttershy was kept busy.
>You found something shiny that caught your eye. Whatever it was, it was enticing.
>Without thinking, you picked it up and dropped it. It made a loud sound and somehow turned into a bunch of smaller pieces.
>Fluttershy runs in to see what happened. All she saw was you standing over a shattered vase. “Oh my... Now Anon, you mustn’t go around breaking things.”
>Did you do something wrong?
>You watched her as she swept up the small pieces.
>Soon it was time for sleep. Fluttershy sets up a small pile of pillows for you on the floor with a blanket.
>”I hope this is enough pillows for you, and this blanket will keep you extra cozy.”
>She pats the pillows and you go to lay down on them. She rubs your forehead and leans down putting part of her face against your cheek and says goodnight.
>The lights go out.
>You wanted to get up and keep looking around, but would she get mad at you?
>For hours you laid in the dark. It was a frustrating mix of sleep and waking up.
>You made up your mind to go find her.
>Walking around the house, you carefully looked around until you came across stairs.
>This was new.
>With slow deliberate steps, you took your first step and pushed up.
>With one foot after the other you were starting to go up. Finally you made it to the top.
>There was a door and when you opened it, there she was.
>You enter the room and stood there for a moment watching her.
>Lifting the covers, you get down next to her and curled up into a little ball. This was much better than sleeping alone.
>You were able to fall asleep.
>It didn’t last for long.
>Light crept across your face. As you rubbed your eyes, you could see light coming from the window.
>Something flashes through your mind. You could see yourself in a room with a window. There was no way out.
>It stops.
>You look down to see that she was beginning to stir out of her sleep. With a yawn and a stretch she opens her eyes and looks up to see you laying there next to her.
>She makes a funny sound and falls out of bed. You peer over the edge and look at her. “Oh, you startled me...”
>With a smile she asks, “Did you get lonely down there?”
>You nodded to her. Your tummy was making sounds again.
>As Fluttershy was picking herself up you opened your mouth, you remember what she said when you were...
Hungry...
>Fluttershy stops and looks at you. Her mouth is hung open and eyes opened up. “Did... did you just talk?”
>Did you say something bad? Maybe talking wasn’t a good idea.
>She came closer to you, “Anon, did you just talk?” she seemed more excited and happy this time.
Hungry.
>You finally got some food, but soon the purple creature came over with a bunch of stuff. “Twilight, I’m so glad you’re here!”
>”Why? What’s happening?”
>”It’s Anon! He spoke to me! He said ‘hungry’!” Fluttershy was almost ecstatic.
>Twilight started making funny faces, “He did? Can you make him say it again?”
>Fluttershy hovers next to you, “C’mon, say ‘hungry’ for me Anon.”
Hungry...
>Twilight’s jaw drops, but she regains her composure. “Maybe it’s a creature that can mimic sounds, like a parrot.”
>”I don’t know, Twilight. He said it this morning and I didn’t mention the word to him.”
>”Fluttershy, we still need to do some tests and him, we can’t jump to conclusions that he’s intelligent.”
>They put the round thing on your head again.
>Twilight stands by the machine and reads the paper. She shakes her head as she continues to look over the paper, “This.... this can’t be right!”
>”What’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked.
>”Fluttershy, yesterday these tests didn’t show anything remarkable but now... his brainwave pattern has shown an increase.”
>So the yellow one was called Fluttershy.
>Fluttershy wasn’t sure what that meant, “Do you mean he’s...?”
Fluttershy...
>You smiled at pointed at her. She made another funny face which caused you to smile.
>Twilight turned to Fluttershy, “He’s learning. And according to these readings, at a fast pace.”